"The individual who stepped up was Riley Ferguson," Jones said. . . "I thought he showed some poise. The thing I liked about him was his pocket presence. He doesn't get rattled, and he made some big throws."
The 6-foot-3, 173-pound Ferguson committed to Tennessee's previous coaching staff last summer, and the Vols' new staff liked what they saw enough to sign him in February.
The coaches have liked what they've seen so far in his first preseason practice.
"One of the things we look for is a winner, and Riley comes from a very successful high school program where they won multiple state championships," offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian said Thursday. "Obviously he has that pedigree, and we want a guy that comes in with the confidence and the ability to step in and be the alpha male, be the leader. Riley has a lot of confidence.
"He has a strong arm, is accurate and at this point we're trying to minimize the turnovers and all that. He's aggressive, and I like that. He can make all the throws on the field, so he has a lot of talent and will have a promising future."
How soon that future arrives is the uncertain part.
At least during the open viewing periods of practice, Ferguson has shared second-team repetitions with the redshirt freshman Peterman as Justin Worley continues to handle all the first-team reps. It happened again during 7-on-7 work Friday, when the freshman completed one of his two attempts after Peterman's two completions.
Josh Dobbs, the Vols' other freshman, took no snaps during that period and handed off to running backs during an 8-on-8 period with the offensive and defensive lines, linebackers, backs and tight ends in one practice earlier this week, whereas Worley, Peterman and Ferguson threw to receivers.
Ferguson perhaps has the best arm of any of the four competitors in Tennessee's quarterback derby.
"His arm strength is awesome, and it's awesome to see him throw the ball," Worley said Thursday. "Even in warmups, he's slinging it around. He's grasped the offense as well as we all have."
