Strange: UT history offers support for QB change

Nick Stephens is walking proof of one of sport's most durable cliches. Tennessee's back-up quarterback is the most popular guy on campus this week.

Stephens, a sophomore, has suited up for 18 games in his UT career, played in one. He's a .500 passer (1-for-2). He averages 5.0 yards per carry (one carry).

That's normally not the kind of resume that wins Mr. Popularity contests. But these are not normal times for Tennessee football.

Long-time Vol-watchers are trying to recall when the program last witnessed as, uh, rough a stretch of quarterbacking as Jonathan Crompton has provided in the first four games of 2008.

Rehashing the gory details is not necessary. Suffice it to say the Vol Nation is clamoring for the backup quarterback.

As head coach Phillip Fulmer strongly considers that option this week, I'd remind him there is history on Stephens' side.

Peyton Manning sits atop UT's school passing rankings. But the guys who rank Nos. 2 and 4, respectively, were bench-warmers when their emergent seasons kicked off.

Casey Clausen passed for 9,577 yards, second only to Manning, and quarterbacked the Vols to 34 victories between 2000-2003.

He started the 2000 season as the third-stringer.

Andy Kelly ranks fourth on UT's all-time list. He began his sophomore season, 1989, on the bench behind Sterling Henton.

Clausen was a true freshman in 2000. Joey Mathews was the opening-day starter. Redshirt freshman A.J. Suggs started the next four games.

The Vols were 2-3 when Clausen got his first start, against Alabama. A 20-10 victory over the Tide launched a six-game winning streak to end the regular season.

When 2001 rolled around, the Vols were loaded and Clausen was up to speed. They came within one bad half of playing for a national title in the Rose Bowl.

In 1989, head coach Johnny Majors and his new offensive coordinator - Fulmer - made a midseason quarterback change in a very different scenario.

UT was 5-0 and ranked No. 6 when Kelly got a battlefield promotion ahead of Henton in the Alabama game.

It would be the Vols' only loss and Kelly even threw three interceptions that day. But UT felt Kelly, a sophomore, gave the team a better chance to realize its potential than the erratic Henton.

Kelly started the final six wins of that season as UT won an SEC title and finished 11-1. Kelly quarterbacked the Vols to another SEC title in 1990.

Back in the here and now, I'm not suggesting that Stephens, or redshirt freshman B.J. Coleman for that matter, will lead Tennessee to an SEC title, this year or in the future.

But I'm not suggesting they won't, either. We just don't know. Stephens, at least, deserves a shot Saturday when Northern Illinois visits.

Quarterback being such a vital position, it shouldn't be tampered with lightly. However, if things aren't working - and they're clearly not working for the Vols - change can foster improvement.

Ask the Tennessee Titans. They improved to 4-0 Sunday with Kerry Collins.

I don't even want to completely write off Crompton yet. Maybe a break gets him out of this awful rut and clears his head.

Maybe Stephens is a Kelly or Clausen waiting to happen. Or, maybe he can achieve modest success with a complement from Gerald Jones in the G-Gun package.

Playing more than one quarterback is not ideal. It wasn't pretty when the Vols flip-flopped between Erik Ainge and Rick Clausen in 2005.

Still, it was a workable arrangement in 2004, when Ainge and Brent Schaeffer, and eventually Rick Clausen, shuttled the Vols to an SEC East title.

Any kind of change is preferable to where the Vols are now.

Give Stephens the ball Saturday and see what happens.

Mike Strange may be reached at 865-342-6276 or strangem@knoxnews.com.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
Want to use this article? Click here for options!