Senior quarterback Nick Stephens informed Tennessee head coach Derek Dooley on Thursday that he is leaving the team.
“In light of the way the first eight practices have gone and some of the competition we’ve created, he doesn’t want to be here and risk not playing his senior year,” Dooley said. “Nick is in his fifth year and has been trying to get on the field his whole career. He just felt it was too risky to go through another season, because he just wants to play.
“We hate to lose Nick but I certainly understand it. It’s a fifth-year quarterback who hasn’t played. You go play football to play, and I understand the emotion of it.”
That leaves Matt Simms or Tyler Bray, both of whom joined the Vols at the start of this semester, as the likely starter come September.