List of Tennessee Volunteers starting quarterbacks

This is a list of notable Tennessee Volunteers starting quarterbacks and the years they participated on the Tennessee Volunteers football team.

Starting Quarterbacks

*	Selected to All conference Team

1971 to present

Tee Martin

Peyton Manning

Heath Shuler

The following players were notable quarterbacks for the Tennessee Volunteers since UT joined the Southeastern Conference in 1933.

Year	Name	Class	First career start	GS	Record	Notes	Ref.
2025	Joey Aguilar	Sr.	August 30, 2025
2024	Nico Iamaleava	Fr.		13	10–3	Transferred to UCLA
2023	Joe Milton III	6th Year		12	8–4
	Nico Iamaleava	Fr.	January 1	1	1–0	First career start on January 1, 2024, against #17 Iowa. Citrus Bowl MVP
2022	Joe Milton III	Sr.		2	2–0	Orange Bowl MVP
	Hendon Hooker	6th Year		11	9–2	SEC Offensive Player of the Year, All-SEC First Team
2021	Joe Milton III	Jr.	September 2	2	1–1
	Hendon Hooker	Sr.	September 18	9	5–4
2020	Jarrett Guarantano	Sr.		7	2–5	Transferred to Washington State
	Harrison Bailey	Fr.	December 5	3	1–2	Transferred to UNLV
2019	Jarrett Guarantano	Jr.		7	4–3
	Brian Maurer	Fr.	October 6	4	2–2	Transferred to Stephen F. Austin
	J. T. Shrout	Fr.	November 2	2	2–0	Transferred to Colorado
2018	Jarrett Guarantano	So.		12	5–7
2017 [a]	Jarrett Guarantano	Fr.	October 14	6	1–5
	Quinten Dormady	Jr.	September 4	5	3–2	Transferred to Houston
	Will McBride	Fr.	November 11	1	0–1	Transferred to Lamar
2016	Joshua Dobbs	Sr.		13	9–4	Music City Bowl MVP, All-SEC Second Team, Drafted 135th overall in the 2017 NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers
2015	Joshua Dobbs	Jr.		13	9–4
2014 [b]	Justin Worley	Sr.		7	3–4
	Joshua Dobbs	So.		5	4–1	Taxslayer Bowl MVP
	Nathan Peterman	So.		1	0–1	Transferred to Pittsburgh. Drafted 171st overall in the 2017 NFL draft by the Buffalo Bills
2013 [c]	Justin Worley	Jr.		7	4–3
	Joshua Dobbs	Fr.	November 2	4	1–3
	Nathan Peterman	Fr.	September 21	1	0–1
2012	Tyler Bray	Jr.		12	5–7
2011 [d]	Tyler Bray	So.		7	4–3
	Justin Worley	Fr.	October 29	3	1–2
	Matt Simms	Sr.		2	0–2
2010 [e]	Matt Simms	Jr.	September 4	8	2–6
	Tyler Bray	Fr.	November 6	5	4–1
2009	Jonathan Crompton	Sr.		13	7–6
2008 [f]	Jonathan Crompton	Jr.		6	3–3
	Nick Stephens	Fr.	October 4	6	2–4
2007	Erik Ainge	Sr.		14	10–4	Played 6 games under the influence of prescription painkillers
2006 [g]	Erik Ainge	Jr.		12	9–3
	Jonathan Crompton	Fr.	November 11	1	0–1
2005	Erik Ainge	So.		5	4–1
	Rick Clausen	Sr.		6	1–5
2004	Erik Ainge	Fr.	October 2	6	4–2	SEC Offensive Freshman of the Year
	Rick Clausen	Jr.	November 20	4	3–1	Cotton Bowl Classic Offensive MVP
	Brent Schaeffer	Fr.	September 5	3	3–0	Transferred to the College of the Sequoias, later Ole Miss
2003	Casey Clausen	Sr.		13	10–3
2002	Casey Clausen	Jr.		11	7–4
	C.J. Leak	Jr.	October 12	1	0–1
	James Banks	Fr.	November 16	1	1–0
2001	Casey Clausen	So.		13	11–2	Florida Citrus Bowl MVP
2000	Casey Clausen	Fr.	October 21	7	6–1
	A.J. Suggs	Fr.	September 16	4	1–3	Transferred to Georgia Tech
	Joey Mathews	So.	September 2	1	1–0
1999	Tee Martin	Sr.		12	9–3	All-SEC First Team
1998	Tee Martin	Jr.	September 5	13	13–0	Led Tennessee to the 1998 National Championship. He broke the NCAA record for consecutive completions.	[1]
1997	Peyton Manning	Sr.		13	11–2	1997 Heisman Trophy Runner Up. Davey O'Brien Award. Consensus All-American. SEC Player of the Year. All-SEC First Team. SEC Championship MVP. Florida Citrus Bowl MVP
1996	Peyton Manning	Jr.		12	10–2	Third Team All-American. All-SEC Second Team.
1995	Peyton Manning	So.		12	11–1	All-SEC First Team.
1994	Peyton Manning	Fr.	September 24	8	7–1	SEC Freshman of the Year
	Branndon Stewart	Fr.				Transferred to Texas A&M.
	Todd Helton	Jr.	September 10	3	1–2	Played in 1994 until Peyton Manning took over primary QB duties. Went on to play Major League Baseball.
	Jerry Colquitt	Sr.	September 3	1	0–1
1993	Heath Shuler	Jr.		12	10–2	1993 Heisman Trophy Runner Up. SEC Player of the Year. All-SEC First Team.
1992	Heath Shuler	So.	September 5	12	9–3	Hall of Fame Bowl MVP
1991	Andy Kelly	Sr.		12	9–3
1990	Andy Kelly	Jr.		13	9–2–2	Cotton Bowl MVP, All-SEC Second Team.
1989	Andy Kelly	So.	October 21	6	6–0
	Sterling Henton	So.	September 2	6	5–1
1988	Jeff Francis	Sr.		11	5–6
1987	Jeff Francis	Jr.		13	10–2–1
1986	Jeff Francis	So.	September 6	12	7–5	Liberty Bowl MVP
1985	Daryl Dickey	Sr.		7	6–0–1	Sugar Bowl MVP, became starter after Robinson injury – Team beat Miami in Sugar Bowl
	Tony Robinson	Sr.		5	4–1	In 1985 was considered a Heisman candidate until season ending knee injury.
1984	Daryl Dickey	Jr.	September 22	1	0–0–1
	Tony Robinson	Jr.	September 1	11	7–4	All-SEC First Team.
1983	Alan Cockrell	Jr.		12	9–3
1982	Alan Cockrell	So.		12	6–5–1
1981	Alan Cockrell	Fr.	September 19	2	2–0
	Steve Alatorre	Sr.		8	6–2	Garden State Bowl MVP
	Jeff Olszewski	Sr.		2	0–2
1980	Steve Alatorre	Jr.	October 18	6	2–4
	Jeff Olszewski	Jr.	September 6	5	3–2
1979	Jimmy Streater	Sr.		12	7–5	All-SEC (UPI). Nicknamed the "Sylva Streak"
1978	Jimmy Streater	Jr.		11	5–5–1
1977	Jimmy Streater	So.	September 10	9	4–5
	Pat Ryan	Sr.	October 8	2	0–2
1976	Randy Wallace	Sr.		11	6–5
1975	Randy Wallace	Jr.	September 14	12	7–5
1974	Condredge Holloway	Sr.		12	7–3–2
1973	Condredge Holloway	Jr.		11	7–4	Holloway was one of the first African-American quarterbacks to receive national exposure. His nickname at Tennessee was the "Artful Dodger".	[2]
1972	Condredge Holloway	So.	September 9	11	9–2
1971	Jim Maxwell	Sr.	October 30	6	6–0
	Phil Pierce	Sr.	October 2	4	3–1
	Dennis Chadwick	Jr.	September 18	2	1–1

1933 to 1970 (incomplete)

Beattie Feathers

Name	Year	Notes	References
Bobby Scott	1969–1970
Bubba Wyche	1968
Dewey Warren	1966–1967
Charles Fulton	1965
Art Galiffa	1964–1966
Mallon Faircloth	1961–1963
Glenn Glass	1960–1961
Billy Majors	1958–1960
Bobby Gordon	1957
Johnny Majors	1956
Jimmy Beutel	1954–1955
Bill Barbish	1953
Hal Hubbard	1952
Bill Blackstock	1951
Jimmy Hahn	1950–1951	Jacobs Blocking Trophy
Jimmy Hill	1949–1950
Jack Armstrong	1948
Orvis Milner	1947	Founder of the UT quarterback club.	[3]
Walter Slater	1946
Buzz Warren	1943–1944
Jim Gaffney	1943	1943 season suspended due to WWII
Johnny Butler	1941	Butler wore number 22.
Van Thompson	1940
George Cafego	1938–1939	Two-time All-American. Heisman finalist. Number 1 overall pick of 1940 NFL draft.
Walter Wood	1937
Phil Dickens	1935–1936
Charles Vaughn	1934
Beattie Feathers	1933	SEC Player of the Year

1922 to 1932

Deke Brackett

Bobby Dodd

The following quarterbacks were the predominant quarters for the Volunteers each season after the establishment of the Southern Conference until the establishment of the Southeastern Conference.

Name	Years Started	Notability	References
Deke Brackett	1931–1932	Led Tennessee along with Beattie Feathers to 1932 Southern title.	[4]
Bobby Dodd	1928–1930	Twice All-Southern. Later coached Georgia Tech to the 1952 National Championship. One of only three elected to the College Football Hall of Fame as both player and coach.	[5]
Roy Witt	1928
D. Vincent Tudor	1927–1929
Jimmy Elmore	1927
Billy Harkness	1924–1926
Jimmie Smith	1922

1896 to 1921 (incomplete)

Roe Campbell

Buck Hatcher

Sax Crawford

Strang Nicklin

The following quarterbacks were the predominant quarters for the Volunteers each season after the establishment of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association until the establishment of the Southern Conference.

Name	Years Started	Notability	References
Roe Campbell	1921–1924	Awarded the Porter Cup in 1922. Campbell attended Tusculum College before Tennessee, where he is a member of its sports Hall of Fame	[6]
Joe Evans	1920
Willis McCabe	1919	Won The Porter Cup
Buck Hatcher	1916	Led the Vols to their second SIAA title. The New York Times ranked him as the season's premier punter.
Bill May	1914–1915	Led Tennessee to 1914 SIAA title, the first championship of any kind for the program. This season also featured Tennessee's first victory over Vanderbilt	[7]
Red Rainey	1913	All-Southern.	[8]
Rufus Branch	1909–1912
Chauncey Raulston	1909
J. C. Loucks	1906–1908
Walker Leach	1905	Captain of 1908 team.
T. R. Watkins	1903–1904
Sax Crawford	1901–1902	He coached Tennessee in 1904, scoring the first ever win over Alabama.
J. G. Logan	1900
C. L. Bryan	1899
Strang Nicklin	1897	Nicklin transferred from UNC to UT in 1896. He was the first UT athlete to play major league baseball and the first to play in a World Series game. His paid baseball participation, together with playing baseball players who were not enrolled, occasioned the blacklisting of Tennessee by the SIAA in 1897.	[9]
D. C. Chapman	1896

1891 to 1893

The following players were the predominant quarters for the Volunteers each season the team was a non-conference independent team, following the birth of Tennessee football.

Name	Years Started	Notability	References
Howard Ijams	1891–1893	First Volunteer quarterback to play Vanderbilt.	[10]

Notes

1. Dormady started the first five games; Guarantano started the remaining six of seven games of the season.
2. Worley started the first seven games; Dobbs started the remaining five of six games of the season.
3. Worley started the first six of seven games of the season; Dobbs started the remaining four games.
4. Bray started the first five games and returned last two games of the season.
5. Simms started the first eight games; Bray started the last five games of the season.
6. Crompton started the first four games and returned the last two games of the season.
7. Ainge started the first eight games and returned the last three games of the season.

References

1. "Tee Martin bio". University of Kentucky. Archived from the original on February 17, 2010. Retrieved February 12, 2010.
2. Fuchs, Cynthia. "The Color Orange: The Condredge Holloway Story." www.popmatters.com, February 21, 2011. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
3. "Tennessee Vols football hero Orvis Milner passes away at 90". Boxscore News. August 6, 2014. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
4. "Brackett, Feathers & Volunteers Romp Over NYU". Associated Press. December 5, 1931. ISBN   9781582610788.
5. "Bobby Dodd biography". Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation. Archived from the original on December 1, 2008. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
6. "Tusculum College Sports Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on October 8, 2014. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
7. "Tennessee Football 100 years ago".
8. "1913 Football Program – UT vs Sewanee (at Chattanooga)". October 18, 1913. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
9. "Nicklin, Samuel Strang [Sammy Strang]".
10. Bill Traughber (November 20, 2013). "Vanderbilt defeated Vols twice in 1892".