University of Tennessee Athletics
A Football Fraternity In Photos
October 01, 2014 | Football
By Brian Rice KNOXVILLE, Tenn.
UTSports.com
Justin Worley now holds that job. Like any other in college football, the time he will have that job is finite. The support he gets from his predecessors in the position is infinite.
Among those predecessors is the man in the first picture, Peyton Manning. He needs no introduction to fans that have followed his career in the NFL and before that as one of the greatest quarterbacks in college football history at Tennessee. Manning spent his bye week on the UT sideline and in the locker room before the Vols took on Georgia in Athens. There was one player in particular that he came to see.
"Right when I saw him, he was making a bee-line to me," Worley said of the locker room pre-game. "To have that support from one of the greatest ever is awesome. We have a good relationship, I've worked his camp a couple of times, I camped at his camp a couple of times, just being able to talk to him at different tomes in my life. Then to have him come and support me playing for Tennessee is awesome."
Manning was seen on the sidelines during the game offering congratulations and encouragement to Worley. When the senior was injured in the third quarter, it was Manning standing next to him as trainers attended to his elbow. It was Manning watching as Worley ran out of the locker room and into the game to lead a touchdown drive.
When the game ended, there was another photo with another Vol great. Condredge Holloway, Tennessee's assistant AD for player relations. His arm is around Worley as they walk off the field, quarterback to quarterback.
"Condredge is another great resource for me," Worley said. "I actually did an internship with him and got to spend some quality time with him. He's was a great football player, he's a great person, it's awesome to sit down and let him tell you some stories."
Holloway is glad to have a relationship with the players that come into the position at Tennessee. But the advice he gives is not about the mechanics of making throws or the mental aspect of reading defenses. It is about being the quarterback at Tennessee on and off the field.
"When you're finished playing, you don't ever really finish being a teammate," Holloway said. "I don't like to jump in and say `You need to come and listen to me.' If they want to come and hear about the past and how we got to where we are, I'm happy to share that with them. Justin and I had a few great conversations about how it used to be and how it is now and what's expected about the quarterback position.
Sometimes the interaction is not even a conversation, it is just a simple arm around a shoulder as two members of the same exclusive club walk off another field of battle.
"It's awesome to be a part of the tradition and the legacy that those guys set before me," said Worley. "I talked to Peyton before the game, then to have him shoot me some advice during the game and congratulate me during the game was incredible. Condredge walking me off and telling me to keep my head up, it's incredible to be around these guys. The success that they had has been really inspiring to me."
