Tennessee football signed seven offseason additions for the upcoming season. We’ve already touched on the top 25 most important returning players from last year’s team. Now, let’s touch on who among these new additions could make an immediate impact for the Big Orange come fall.
Coming in at No. 10 is freshman quarterback Tayven Jackson.
Old Ways
Tayven Jackson was hailed as Tennessee’s quarterback of the future until 5-star Class of 2023 commit Nico Iamaleava rolled around.
It seems like many just forgot about Jackson after the news dropped. The 4-star QB from Greenwood, Indiana was rated as the No. 13 signal caller in the class of 2022 and the No. 198 prospect in the nation when he committed to Tennessee in April.
Jackson, standing at 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds led Center Grove High School to back-to-back undefeated, championship seasons, breaking four schools records along the way. Across his career, Jackson completed 329 of 557 passes for 4,813 yards and 47 touchdowns.
He takes after his brother on the basketball court. Jackson’s brother (Trayce Jackson-Davis) is one of the best forwards in the country at the University of Indiana. Tayven played well in high school himself, averaging 12.4 points and 4 rebounds per game.
New Beginnings
Jackson’s climb to the top is going to be harder with Iamaleava coming to town in 2023. Despite the potentially he showed in spring camp, the freshman QB is still third on the depth chart behind Hendon Hooker and Joe Milton.
But that doesn’t mean Jackson wont see the field in 2022-23. He very likely will, at least in limited minutes. Hooker and Milton both suffered injuries at one point last season, too.
What’s more interesting is Jackson’s future moving forward with the Vols. Hooker will be gone after this season, which leaves the quarterback room – barring change – as Milton (fifth-year senior), Jackson and freshman Iamaleava. Fans are quick to assume Iamaleava will win the job Day 1, but that is hardly a guarantee (though Sam Bradford and Landry Jones – Heupel products – started and thrived their freshmen years).
This season is an opportunity for Jackson to prove he should be above Iamaleava in the depth chart next season, and Heupel will certainly give him opportunities to prove it to him. The Vols play three “gimme games” against Ball State, Akron and Tennessee Martin. Look for Jackson to see the field in any of those games, most likely UT Martin as it is in the middle of the season rather than the first few weeks.
Vols fans can only hope injuries don’t necessitate the use of Jackson outside of those scenarios.
