Tennessee quarterback Brian Maurer didn’t participate in the Vols’ practice Wednesday or their first preseason scrimmage Thursday, and one of his recent social-media posts appeared to hint that he might be on the verge of leaving the program. But Tennessee coach Josh Heupel wasn’t ready to say Thursday that Maurer is moving on from the Vols.
After Tennessee’s scrimmage Thursday morning at Neyland Stadium, Heupel said he talked with the redshirt sophomore “a few days ago” about how the Vols would be dividing the snaps among their four scholarship quarterbacks as they continue to compete for the starting job. Heupel said he plans to “have a conversation” with Maurer on Friday during the team’s scheduled off day.
“Just had an initial conversation with him at some point a few days ago, as far as the reps and how those things were going to be divided up,” Heupel said. “No further update on him. We’ll have a conversation with him during the off day here.”
Later asked to clarify whether Maurer still is part of the team, Heupel said, “Had an initial conversation. I told you I’ll give you guys an update here after the off day.”
As of Thursday morning, Maurer had yet to add his name to the NCAA transfer portal. He entered preseason camp as part of a four-man battle at the quarterback position, along with Virginia Tech transfer Hendon Hooker, Michigan transfer Joe Milton and sophomore Harrison Bailey, a former top-100 prospect who started Tennessee’s final three games last season.
“They took my dream after 4 days .. that’s okay cause I’m a soldier. #18out,” Maurer wrote on his Instagram account Tuesday night in a post that has since been edited.
Maurer wasn’t widely viewed as one of the favorites to win the job going into camp. But Heupel recruited Maurer, a former three-star prospect from Ocala, Fla., when he was coming out of high school during Heupel’s previous stint at UCF.
“But now that he’s here, I feel like it’s all wiped clean,” Maurer said last week before Tennessee’s first preseason practice. “Obviously, I know him. I know what he does and stuff like that. But this gave me a new start, and also gave him a new start, as well.
“I mean, I’d like to say that everybody here has a new slate. Whether we had a relationship or not, I still have to prove what I can do on the field, and off the field, as well.”
Maurer made four starts and appeared in eight games as a true freshman during the 2019 season. He threw two touchdowns and five interceptions while completing 35 of 75 passes for 541 yards.
Last year, Muarer didn’t make his season debut until the Alabama game, completing his only pass attempt in limited action and running for 15 yards. He also made brief appearances against Florida, Arkansas and Vanderbilt.
