Tennessee’s quarterback competition appears to be down to Michigan transfer Joe Milton, Virginia Tech transfer Hendon Hooker, and sophomore Harrison Bailey.

Following Brian Maurer’s absence from practice, coach Josh Heupel discussed the performance of the other 3 following a recent scrimmage. Tennessee worked all 3 phases for 2 hours and the scrimmage featured live tackling.

About Joe Milton, Heupel said, “I thought he managed things really well inside of the pocket. For Joe and for Hendon and for Harrison, some of it’s tough, because they’re not in a live situation, are they going to make a play, are they going to be able to get out of the pocket, those types of scenarios.”

While he evaluated the quarterbacks, he didn’t focus on them specifically as a reason why the offense fell short overall.

“I thought all of them did a great job of taking care of the football, were efficient in throwing it, for the most part,” he said. “I thought their decision making in what we’re doing in the run game and controlling the pass game too was pretty solid. At the end of the day, I don’t think we collectively strung things together the way that we need to.”

He believes the remaining 3 quarterbacks have competed well, and been sound decision-makers overall.