Alabama Football vs Tennessee 2013
Tennessee quarterback Justin Worley is pressured by A'Shawn Robinson in Alabama's 45-10 win over the Vols last year.
(Vasha Hunt/vhunt@al.com)
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama -- Tennessee's struggling offense now has a bit of uncertainty as it enters the annual rivalry game with Alabama.
Starting quarterback Justin Worley's status remains unknown heading into the 6:30 p.m. Saturday visit from No. 4 Alabama. Vol coach Butch Jones has been vague with answers on Worley's status when meeting with reporters in Knoxville this week. The passer left last week's 34-3 loss at Ole Miss with a shoulder injury after being sacked seven times.
"It's ongoing right now," Jones said on his Wednesday radio show, according to the Times Free-Press. "We'll have to make a decision here later in the week with Justin's status. The great thing for us is the way we practice all of our quarterback get equal reps in practice."
On Tuesday Jones said Worley was "making progress."
"We will see how it goes," Jones said. "Again, just like everyone he was out there for practice but we will see."
Back on Monday, Jones said he expected Worley to play against Alabama.
Tennessee offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian on Wednesday said Worley's shoulder is "good and continues to progress." He also noted both backups, redshirt sophomore Nathan Peterman and sophomore Joshua Dobbs were taking significant snaps in practice this week.
Peterman came off the bench for some of the more significant snaps in the second half of Tennessee's 35-32 loss at Georgia. When Worley was briefly knocked out with a shoulder injury, Peterman completed 4 of 9 passes for 20 yards while being rushed in the pocket.
In all, Peterman's the only backup to throw a pass this season. He's completed 8 of 15 attempts for 39 yards. Worley is 157-for-252 (63.3 percent) for 1,579 yards and 12 touchdowns. But it's the 29 sacks that he's taken that's impacted the Vols offense the most.
A thumb injury in last season's Alabama game contributed to Worley's mid-game benching. He completed 8 of 15 passes for 120 yards and a pair of interceptions in the 45-10 Alabama win. Dobbs came off the bench to complete 5 of 12 throws for 75 yards.
Tennessee's passing offense ranks seventh in the SEC (231 yards a game) and 12th in total offense (325 yards/game).