It’s almost (spring) football time in Tennessee, and govols247 is getting you ready with a position-by-position look at third-year coach Butch Jones’ Volunteers.

Tennessee rising junior quarterback Josh Dobbs

Tennessee, which is coming off its first winning season since the 2009 season and its first bowl win since the 2007 season, is hoping to use the momentum a 7-6 performance in 2014 with a much bigger 2015. Many are pegging the Vols as SEC Eastern Division title contenders, but there’s plenty of work to be done in order to make that a reality.

Let’s start our spring primer by looking at the quarterbacks.

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THE CUPBOARD

Joshua Dobbs (6-3, 216, Jr.) — 11 games, 9 starts, 184-of-298 passing, 1,901 yards, 11 TDs, 12 INTs, 142 carries, 658 rushing yards, 9 rushing TDs.

Quinten Dormady (6-4, 200, Fr.) — 0 games, 0 starts, enrolled in January as a true freshman.

Jauan Jennings (6-4, 200, Fr.) — 0 games, 0 starts, enrolled in January as a true freshman.

Patrick Ashford (6-0, 213, Sr.) — 13 games, 0 starts, 1-of-1 passing, 31 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT. Serves as Tennessee’s first-team holder on field goals and extra points and threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to tight end Alex Ellis on a fake field goal last season against Missouri in Neyland Stadium.

Tennessee freshman quarterback Quinten Dormady

Devin Smith (6-4, 199, RFr.) — 0 games, 0 starts, redshirted as a true freshman in 2014.

THEY’RE GONE: Would-be fourth-year junior Nathan Peterman graduated early and transferred to Pitt, where he’ll be eligible to play the 2014 season. Walk-on Mike Wegzyn, a would-be fifth-year senior walk-on who was a star at Knoxville Catholic High School and a scholarship quarterback at UMass, has left the program for unknown reasons. Wegzyn was Tennessee’s emergency quarterback toward the end of last season and dressed for some road games.

THEY’LL BE HERE: Top247, four-star quarterback prospect Sheriron Jones from California will enroll in the summer, as will preffered walk-on Zac Jancek, who played at Knoxville Catholic the past two seasons. The 6-foot-5 Jancek is the son of Tennessee defensive coordinator John Jancek.

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THE SKINNY

After trying to redshirt Dobbs the past two seasons but having to throw him into the mix late in the year, Tennessee will go into 2015 knowing it’s Dobbs’ offense to run. And the way he finished last season, no one should have a problem with that.

If the past several seasons are any indication, though, Tennessee will need multiple quarterbacks to get through 2015. And there’s nothing even remotely resembling proven depth behind Dobbs. That will be a key storyline this spring and beyond.

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Tennessee freshman QB Jauan Jennings

THE BOTTOM LINE

THE MAN: Dobbs’ career numbers still leave a bit to be desired, at least from a passing-game perspective, but he showed late in 2014 that he’s improved a lot in that area, and everyone knows what he can do with his legs. Dobbs has the potential to be an absolute star. He has all the physical skills required to contend for individual awards, and he’s on track to complete a five-year aerospace engineering major in three years, so he’s intelligent and mature beyond his years. He’s everything you want in a student-athlete, and the kind overall person you want leading your football team on and off the field. The only question now is just how good he can be if he stays healthy.

THE UNDERRATED: TBD. We don’t know enough about any of the Tennessee quarterbacks not named Dobbs to name any of them underrated at this point. Give us at least a couple of weeks this spring before we toss anyone in this category … but we will say this: Early reports on Dormady have been impressive.

THE WILDCARD: Jennings is athletic enough to play somewhere other than quarterback at the SEC level, but he’s intriguing enough to keep at the quarterback position and see how much he can develop there. His upside is enormous, and he’s a high-character kid who’s committed to being a great quarterback. It’ll be very interesting to see where his career goes, because he has the talent and the competitive spirit to be a difference-maker in the Tennessee program.

THE BIG QUESTION(S): Just how good can Dobbs be? Who will be Dobbs’ primary backup? Will Tennessee leave spring practice with any sort of comfort in the depth behind Dobbs? Will Dormady and Jennings play well enough to give Jones too much ground to overcome when he arrives this summer?

SPRING IS A SUCCESS IF: Dobbs takes the position and runs with it, and either Dormady or Jennings establishes himself as a solid second-team option.

IDEAL SPRING WOULD BE: Dobbs taking the position and running with it, and Dormady and Jennings both playing well enough to be considered attractive second-team candidates.

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