By: Rachel Ward
The All Vol Call in Show
October 10, 2019
“Freshman QB on fire for Vols: Brian Maurer sends Neyland Stadium into frenzy after giving Tennessee lead over Georgia on his 2nd TD pass” was the ESPN notification that football fans across the country received after Maurer’s 12-yard touchdown pass to Jauan Jennings, giving the Vols the lead against a number three ranked UGA at home.
For Maurer, this touchdown pass wasn’t his first as his first career TD pass came with a 73-yard completion to Marquez Callaway. This play was the longest touchdown pass since October of 2015 when Josh Dobbs sent a 75-yard pass down field to Josh Malone at Kentucky. Maurer was also the 11th true freshman to start a game in Vol football history, and he had the second most passing yards by a true Tennessee freshman in their opening start.
This play brought out the energy in Neyland Stadium as Maurer’s mom and Vol fans erupted with excitement.
At the end of the second quarter and coming out of half time, The Bulldogs pulled away with 33 unanswered points. For the players on the field, the coaches on the sidelines and the fans in the stadium, though, the game provided some hope and showed improvement.
As far as the fan presence and the energy in Neyland Stadium, the players were quick to thank their fans for being them. Maurer was one of the players to tweet to the fan base on Sunday afternoon.
“Vol Nation, Thank you for always showing up and supporting us,” Maurer tweeted. “You guys have no idea how much you mean to us, I promise that as a team we are working to get back on the right track. Please continue to show up and support us, Thank you.”
Maurer’s tweet and comments from Nigel Warrior, Marquez Callaway, and Chris Akporoghene can be seen below.
For young Tennessee football players on the field and for current players getting recruited by Tennessee, it has been stressed that they have the opportunities to have starting positions quickly and to be a part of changing the program around.
Freshman offensive lineman Wanya Morris sat down with the media for the first time this Tuesday, discussing his time in the program, his love for it, and what he wants to tell the recruits that are in the shoes he was in not long ago.
“Turning it around, flipping it, and making Tennessee great again, that’s what I stress to recruits nowadays,” Morris said.
Cooper Mays, also an offensive lineman, committed to UT this summer and voiced his confidence in the UT football program on Twitter, adding emphasis to Morris’ statements.
“I promise that record ain’t an accurate representation of this program or where it’s going,” Mays tweeted. “Y’all are the best fans in the country by the way.”
As the Vols head into another home game this Saturday, taking on a 3-2 Mississippi State, the Vols’ fight for improvement within their program will take place again. For Coach Pruitt, it’s very likely Maurer will be his QB1 again on Saturday.
“We are going to see how this week goes. I think he’d have to have a bad week of practice not to (start),” Pruitt said.
As far as Maurer’s readiness to walk out on the field as a true freshman starter again, he isn’t going to be backing down.
“This fight isn’t over. We’re only on round 6,” Maurer said.
Maurer’s most recent Twitter post about the upcoming round 6 fight can be seen here: