Tennessee Position Group Deep Dive - QB

[tsweezy]

Been flying a lot, decided to plan out the future of each position group and planning our program's philosophy and decided to spin it into some media about the past-present-future of Tennessee football. Read on!

 

First off: the Quarterback position

Frankly this is the cornerstone of Tennessee football. We'll start from the top.

2021:

In 2021 we had 2 realistic quarterback candidates: Stevie Ryan (the presumed favorite) - a 3 star senior scrambler and Cedric Marsh - a 2 star senior pocket passer.

Stevie Ryan - Sr ⭐⭐⭐, Scrambler - Baton Rouge, LA - B overall. A speed, B agility, B strength, B Throw Power, B Throw Accuracy, B Football IQ

Cedric Marsh - Sr ⭐⭐, Pocket - Hillside, NJ - B overall. A throw power, B throw accuracy, C football IQ.

 

Stevie was a team captain and locker room leader walking in as the preseason starter. However, the offense just wasn't clicking throughout the spring game period and he wound up losing the QB battle to the more exciting Cedric Marsh. Cedric wound up throwing every pass in 2021 en route to a 10-3 season. 4000 passing yards on 58% completion percentage with 38:20 TD:INT. 

All in all, a pretty good showing from a 2-star. Cedric was in the upper half of QBs and graduated before deciding to become one of the premier car salesman in the greater Pigeon Forge region. Stevie Ryan was a fantastic supporting teammate during the season, but grew a little vindictive afterwards and hit the sauce a bit too frequently. His current whereabouts are unknown. 

Recruiting:
The future looked kind of bleak at QB but fortunately, Elite 11 MVP Brandon Savage was the in-state golden boy who signed with the Volunteers as their crown jewel and peer recruited a #1 recruiting class.

 

2022:

As a true freshman, Savage was actually a near carbon copy of senior year Cedric Marsh in terms of attributes. However, there wasn't any serious competition on the roster and he waltzed his way to the top of the depth chart (and the top of his ballroom dancing elective)

Brandon Savage - Fr ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, Pocket - Decatur TN - B+ overall. A throw power, B throw accuracy, C football IQ.

Franklin Olstad - Sr ⭐⭐⭐, Pocket - Park City, UT - B- overall. B throw power, B throw accuracy, C football IQ.

I still don't understand how the previous coaching staff recruited skiing phenom Olstad to come spend 4 years riding the bench in Knoxville. Oh well.

Savage threw every pass this season and even though his attributes didn't jump off the page, he just had it. With a better surrounding team than 2021 he wasn't asked to do too much as RB Ynoa was a Heisman finalist and made the bus go. In his complimentary role, Savage still posted a 4K season with 66% completion and 24:8 TD:INT. He was one of the ~35 best QBs in the country and led Tennessee to a 12-3 record and berth in the playoff semifinals.

Recruiting:
After signing Savage, there really wasn't a need for a QB. A regional kid named Koch showed some flashes on the camp circuit, and after being passed on by UGA, Tennessee scouts convinced Sweezy to take a flier on him (and it didn't hurt that his younger brother looked like an absolute future BALLER). 

2023:

Brandon Savage - So ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, Pocket - Decatur TN - A overall, A throw power, B throw accuracy, B football IQ

Walter Morgan - Sr ⭐⭐, Pocket - New Orleans, LA - C+ overall, B- throw power, B throw accuracy, D+ football IQ

Mark Koch - Fr ⭐⭐⭐⭐, Balanced - Lawrenceville GA - C overall, C throw power, D throw accuracy, D Football IQ

It's been beaten to death, but this past season Savage won the Heisman en route to another semifinal berth ending the year 13-2. 6649 yards, 52:14 TD:INT, sack rate dropped from 1 every 17 passes in 2022 to 1 every 28 (with a worse OL). 5th most yardage, 4th most TDs in a single season in NCAA history. It could have been even more record setting but he sat more than any other starting QB as the backups / 3rd string led the nation in playing time. Overall this Tennessee offense was the 2nd or 3rd best in history (2023 USC / 2021 FSU) in yards per game, points per game, and passing stats

Walter Morgan wound up getting the backup job and up 346 yards on 39 attempts with 4:0 TD:INT

Mark Koch got some mop up duty as a true frosh, with 200 yards on 35 passes with 1:1 TD:INT.

Recruiting:

An absolute shocker here as one of the 5-stars Jake O'Conner took a liking to the Tennessee program and basically recruited himself onto it. A huge coup that ensured another 4+ years of projected dominance at the position

2024:

Brandon Savage - Jr ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, Pocket - Decatur TN - A overall, A+ Throw power, A throw accuracy, B+ Football IQ.

Mark Koch - So ⭐⭐⭐⭐, Balanced - Lawrenceville GA - B- overall, C throw power, C throw accuracy, C IQ

Jake O'Conner - Fr ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Pocket - Excelsior MN - B+ overall, A throw power, B throw accuracy, C football IQ

Jay Ratley - (Jr) ⭐⭐⭐ Scrambler - Midvale UT - B+ overall, B+ speed, A agility, B+ carrying, B strength, C- Throw Power, C throw accuracy, C IQ

Unquestioned what is expected this season. Savage is still only a top 5-10 QB by attributes but is probably the most famous sim player at this point. He took a big step up in his mobility stats as well and is the focal point of the entire team. 

#JOCwatch is now looking like the heir apparent. The obvious plan is to take a redshirt season to put more gap between him and savage. He projects to be a (So) 2026 starter. He was the Elite 11 3rd place finisher with a cannon for an arm.

While JOC takes his redshirt, Koch is the expected backup, but rumored to be more than a little miffed at being recruited over. He want's to show he's got "the stuff" this season (he doesn't). Prime transfer candidate at some point (hopefully after his brother has signed his legally binding commitment). 

Emergency 3rd QB is probably Ratley? But he might transition to RB for his last season as the writing is on the wall about QB playing time.

Also, what was with the last staff's obsession with recruiting Utah QBs? weird connection. 

 

2025:

Projections

Brandon Savage - Sr ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, Pocket - Decatur TN - A overall, A+ Throw power, A+ throw accuracy, A Football IQ.

Mark Koch - Jr ⭐⭐⭐⭐, Balanced - Lawrenceville GA - B overall, B- throw power, B- throw accuracy, B- IQ

Jake O'Conner - (Fr) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Pocket - Excelsior MN - B+ overall, A throw power, B+ throw accuracy, C+ football IQ

 

2025 is the target national championship year. Brandon Savage will be a senior, one of the best QBs in sim history and smashing all career QB records.

Backup in case of injury is #JOC who should be a playoff-caliber QB in a pinch, but unlikely to lead the team to a title by himself.

Mark Koch sits at 3rd string and probably transfers after this year. 

 

2026:

Mark Koch - Sr ⭐⭐⭐⭐, Balanced - Lawrenceville GA - B+ overall, B throw power, B throw accuracy, B IQ

Jake O'Conner - (So) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Pocket - Excelsior MN - A- overall, A throw power, A- throw accuracy, B football IQ

Freshman QB TBD

A slight step back as Tennessee moves from the best college QB of all time to simply one of the best QBs in his class. #JOC should be an A/A/B type of guy at this stage and lead a blistering offense with more talent around him than Savage ever had. Koch is the presumed senior backup if he's still skulking around.

This is the recruiting cycle to snag the next 5 star recruit. 

 

2027:

Jake O'Conner - (Jr) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Pocket - Excelsior MN - A overall, A+ throw power, A throw accuracy, A- football IQ

A (Jr) Jake O'Conner is going to presumably be one of the top talents in the nation, have an unparalleled offense surronded by projected A overalls at literally every position (except TE). The expectation is a national championship from him, and then a hard decision about whether to go pro or not. Who knows who the backups will be.

[npklemm]

Only thing keeping Savage in school through 2026 is the next class of Sr QB's project to be excellent Draft Prospects.

But, if a couple of them stumble and Savage improves, I could see him declaring.