QB Nick Stephens (#17) will no longer be taking snaps under center as he quit the program as a result of being benched. "It made me sick."
Today was no ordinary day for once anticipated starting QB Nick Stephens. Just last week, Stephens assumed he would be the starting QB, the big man on campus, and hopefully lead the Vols to an SEC championship. Unfortunately, he just woke up from this fantasy dream. Tennessee’s new head coach, Derek Dooley, announced yesterday that Nick Stephens was no longer a Vol.
Last week, Stephens was slated to be the Vols starting QB with Matt Simms as the understudy. However, after a poor scrimmage, coach Dooley decided to give Simms more 1st team reps. In spring practice terminology, that means the starting job was now Simms to take.
Shocked and upset with the news, Stephens, as a 5th year, decided to resign from the program. Rather than fighting to earn his starting position back, he just quit. Sources indicate that he will head back to his home state of Texas to pursue a playing career in a lower division program as he has one year of eligibility left.
As for Dooley and the Vols, the offense is in a world of hurt with no depth and experience at QB. With the loss of star running back Brown and no signal caller, this spells disaster in SEC play.
