Rock Hill native lifted in fourth quarter
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee quarterback Justin Worley, a Rock Hill native, replaced Matt Simms late in the Volunteers' 37-6 loss to Alabama Oct. 22, becoming UT's starter two days later.
On Saturday, it was Simms relieving Worley toward the end of a 14-3 loss to South Carolina. But Tennessee coach Derek Dooley wouldn't say after the fact whether or not the decision is the sign of another forthcoming lineup change.
"I'm not going to get into the competition (to start) part, but Justin had a tough day out there," Dooley said. "A couple of interceptions in the red area he has to learn from. It's hard. He struggled a little administratively; had to [use] some timeouts."
Worley, a true freshman, had a less-than-stellar first collegiate start. The former Northwestern High star went 10-of-26 for 105 yards and two interceptions, both of which were devastating to Tennessee's hopes for a win, before being lifted with 10:15 remaining in the game. He was not made available to the media after the game.
Dooley said he elected not to remove Worley from the game earlier in an attempt to allow him the chance for some success.
"I wanted him to keep playing," Dooley said. "He made a couple nice throws and we just wanted to try to get him in a rhythm."
In addition to the two interceptions, both of which ended what appeared to be potential scoring drives for the Vols, Worley also had several overthrows and missed throws. But the performance was not all Worley's fault, Dooley said, as the UT ground attack failed to support him, gaining just 35 yards on 21 carries.
"We didn't help him. We didn't run the ball," Dooley said. "I was disappointed in that. I thought we would run it better. I don't know why."
South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said he felt Worley threw some routes especially well. Spurrier also said he felt his defense had a hand in the former Gatorade National Player of the Year's rough outing.
"I don't know if he had many guys open," Spurrier said. "We seemed to have pretty good coverage everywhere."
Tennessee tight end Mychal Rivera said he was "really proud" of how Worley did the best he could in the face of tremendous pressure.
"He handled things really good," Rivera said. "He's been a leader all week. He's been really confident. Even after he threw those interceptions, he still came in really confident in what he came to do."
Worley, who enrolled early in the spring, entered the season third on the depth chart behind Simms and starter Tyler Bray. But after Bray broke his thumb against Georgia and Simms proved ineffective in losses to Alabama and LSU, the decision was made by Dooley to start Worley. The struggles he had were predictable, Dooley said.
"He did some good things and struggled at some things," Dooley said. "I expected it to happen. It's his first time and he just hasn't had the work."
"It's tough. He's going to be fine. He will learn from it and get better. He does some good things."