Tennessee Football: 2021 season preview with predictions for Volunteers

Who is the starting QB?

While some of the worst losses in the transfer portal were on defense, Tennessee lost two stellar backs in the portal too. Eric Gray transferred to Oklahoma and Ty Chandler went to North Carolina.

Both backs are going to either start or play key roles for teams expected to be in the top 10-15 this season, so that’s disappointing for the Vols. The offensive line returns Cade Mays but lost potential starters to the portal too.

That being said, the Vols have some talented pass catchers led by Velus Jones who caught 22 passes for 280 yards and three touchdowns last season. Jalin Hyatt and Cedric Tillman also flashed potential last season, especially Hyatt who led the team in yards per reception (13.8).

But who will throw them the football?

Bailey was a top-100 recruit back in the 2020 class and the 6-foot-5 pro-style passer completed 70 percent of his passes with four touchdowns and two interceptions last season. He probably has the most long-term upside, although Milton, who has a huge arm could also fit into that category as well.

Hooker completed 63 percent of his passes over the last two seasons with Virginia Tech and notched 22 touchdown passes compared to seven interceptions. He also ran for over 1,000 yards and scored 15 times on the ground.

That dual-threat ability isn’t really something the other quarterbacks possess and it could prove to be valuable for an offense that desperately needs to put points on the board. And since the ground game is a question anyway, Hooker makes the most sense.

That said, if all things are equal, Bailey seems like the best choice. At the end of the day though, one of these guys just needs to emerge for the Vols and if that happens, a bowl game starts to feel like a real possibility.