Former Vols QB Nate Peterman Is An “NFL Prospect”

Former Tennessee Vols quarterback Nate Peterman is proof that one game doesn’t define you as a player.

If you would’ve asked any Vols fan after Tennessee’s 2013 game against Florida if Nate Peterman would be a future NFL prospect they would have looked at you like you were crazy.

And based on that one game, you would be crazy.

But that’s the funny thing about sports, they always offer redemption.

Nate Peterman started against Florida as a redshirt freshman in 2013. Tennessee’s offense didn’t have a lot of rhythm at the time, and new head coach Butch Jones felt the need to shake things up.

The experiment didn’t work out as expected.

Peterman completed four passes for five yards and threw two interceptions, before being forced from the game with a broken hand.

The Florida native got one more start in his Vol career, against Alabama in 2014, before transferring to Pittsburgh.

Peterman had a very strong senior season in 2016 for the Panthers, throwing for 2,855 yards, 27 touchdowns, and only seven interceptions.

He was also the only quarterback to beat the national champion Clemson Tigers in 2016.

That has all led to Peterman actually being considered an “NFL Draft prospect”. That could obviously be said of a lot of players, but I don’t think anyone, after his two year Vol career, thought Peterman would even be on the NFL radar.

This just goes to show that sometimes players just need a chance, and some confidence.

Peterman’s confidence was destroyed at Tennessee, though it’s not necessarily anyone’s fault.

Butch Jones wasn’t really in a position to develop Peterman. He needed results and he needed them fast. The offensive line wasn’t offering much protection, and in 2013 there weren’t a lot of talented skill players on the Vols’ offense to help Peterman.

The talent was always there for Peterman. When I was writing for AllForTennessee.com I believed Peterman would be Jones’ first starting quarterback at UT.

There’s no doubt that Peterman was the better fit for Jones’ offense. But circumstances just didn’t work out for Peterman to be successful at Tennessee.

Hopefully fans don’t look at Peterman’s success at Pitt as an indication that Jones and UT hindered his development.

Peterman had a great quarterbacks coach in Mike Bajakian. It’s hard to blame coaching, though I know that’s where most folks will want to cast fault.

There are so many variables that go into whether or not a quarterback is successful. Many of those variables can’t be quantified.

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Whatever the reason, Peterman proved that players deserve to be judged on more than a few games.

I don’t know if Nate Peterman will make it to the NFL, but I’m glad he got his chance to prove that he’s a capable NCAA quarterback.