The strong-armed sophomore from Flower Mound, Texas, can throw the football a long, long way. Just how long, though, is something that not even Nick Stephens knows.
“The last time I tried to throw (for distance) was my senior year in high school, and I threw it about 74 yards,” he recalled this week. “Don't hold me to that, though, because the last time I tried that was about three years ago.”
Suffice to say, Stephens can throw the ball far enough. If the 6-4, 215-pounder learns to throw it quickly enough and accurately enough, as well, he could beat out junior Jonathan Crompton and redshirt freshman B. J. Coleman to start the Vols' Sept. 1 opener at UCLA.
Because experience is such a valuable commodity at quarterback, most observers assumed Crompton would be listed No. 1 on the spring depth chart, with Stephens No. 2 and Coleman No. 3. Instead, all three are bracketed No. 1.
What does that mean?
“It means exactly what I want it to mean and what it should mean: Everybody has a fair shot,” Stephens said. “Whoever performs, takes care of the ball and leads the team, that's who's going to play. That's what that means.”
