THE SCOOP
Tennessee coach Butch Jones says he’s opening up the Volunteers’ quarterback competition and it could even put freshman Joshua Dobbs of Alpharetta High School into the competition. It may be more of a motivational strategy to get Justin Worley back on track. Worley (35-of-57, 372 yards) started each of Tennessee’s first three games and is still listed atop the depth chart for Saturday’s game at No. 19 Florida. Redshirt freshman Nathan Peterman has played in each game as a backup. Jones didn’t rule out starting either Riley Ferguson or Dobbs, neither of whom have played a varsity snap.
“Whatever quarterback has the best week of practice will be the starter for Tennessee when we play Florida,” Jones said. “If that means a freshman quarterback, that means a freshman quarterback. We’ll add more quarterback run into our package this week. … If that’s Josh Dobbs running the read option or Riley Ferguson, that’s what we’ll do.”
INJURY UPDATES
- Florida quarterback Jeff Driskel said his confidence and left knee are just fine. Driskel has 10 turnovers in the team's last three losses, including three costly ones in a 21-16 setback at Miami just over a week ago. He threw two interceptions in the red zone — receiver Trey Burton ran the wrong route on one of them — and fumbled while getting sacked. His mistakes are still a hot topic in Gainesville, especially since they are a recurring theme in Florida's recent losses. "My coaches and my teammates have full confidence in me and that's all that really matters," he said.
- All-American defensive end Jadeveon Clowney is happy to get a rest with No. 12 South Carolina taking a week off, a break for both for his aching right foot and from the spotlight. He wears a walking boot to protect from inflamation of bone spurs in his foot, an injury he's dealt with since high school and expects to have cleaned up after the season. Clowney's had all aspects of his game analyzed this season and has been criticized for a variety of issues, real and imagined, by fans and the media."It's painful. I'm out here playing on it, though, so I'm just trying to give everything I've got on it," he said.
ETC.
- Alabama running back T.J. Yeldon, who was dressed down by coach Nick Saban for gestures directed at Texas A&M and Johnny Manziel after a touchdown Saturday, issued an apology. "I want to apologize to everyone for my selfish actions on Saturday," his statement read. "That is not the way I want to represent myself, my family and our team. That is not the way we do things at Alabama. This is something that I will learn from and I will use better judgment in the future."
- LSU is likely to get an up-close and personal look at up-tempo offenses the next two weeks, first vs. Auburn and then at Georgia. And coach Les Miles believes the Tigers will be ready. "I think it's something that we've practiced … every day since probably two springs ago. There is always a piece of every practice donated to an up-tempo style of offense. So we feel like we've got a handle on it."
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