Tennessee quarterback Brian Maurer exits game against Alabama with another concussion

Tennessee’s freshman quarterback Brian Maurer has ignited the Volunteers’ offense over the last three weeks. Unfortunately, he’s also taken his fair share of shots, too.

Maurer was knocked out of the game for the second straight week against Alabama on Saturday night, sustaining another concussion, per Jeremy Pruitt. Maurer exited last week’s game against Mississippi State after landing awkwardly on his head during a scramble. It was a mystery whether or not Maurer would play against Alabama, but Tennessee opted to give him a chance.

He didn’t make it through the first quarter, taking a shot and slamming his head against freshman tackle Darnell Wright. Maurer looked dazed on the sidelines, as Pruitt was shown pushing him back towards the bench.

“They’re evaluating Brian,” Pruitt said after the game. “So we’ll see what happens. Jarrett did some really nice things while he was in the game. So we’ll go back and just reevaluate like we do every week.”

Guarantano went 7-16 for just 55 yards in relief of Maurer this week, which included a fumble on a quarterback sneak in the fourth quarter. Maurer was 5-7 for 62 yards before he exited with the injury.

With better quarterback play — who knows? Tennessee hung with Alabama for much of the night after Tua Tagovailoa left with an ankle injury. The Vols’ progress was obvious, but still stunted by quarterback play for the entire night after Maurer’s departure.

With the toughest part of Tennessee’s schedule now behind them, it’s time for the Vols to make some progress in the win column. Whether or not they can do that may come down to Maurer’s status, which we will know more about on Monday.

Two concussions in two weeks isn’t anything to mess with, however.