Brian Maurer absent from practice on Wednesday

A four-man quarterback battle in today’s age of college football can only mean one thing — somebody is going to end up losing, and ultimately leaving. Could that be the case here with Brian Maurer? The junior quarterback was not spotted at practice on Wednesday morning, and it comes just hours after this post was seen on his Instagram.

Nothing official here, but feel free to connect those dots.

The Florida native has had an up and down career in Knoxville, one time viewed as a potential long-term answer for the Volunteers under center. Maurer took over for Jarrett Guarantano back in 2019 as a true freshman, bringing some energy to the table. He was a shot in the arm to the Tennessee offense, but that season was stopped in its tracks by a couple of concussions.

Maurer then was not a factor in the 2020 quarterback picture. Guarantano started last season, but was eventually benched for freshman Harrison Bailey and even JT Shrout. Maurer was clearly fourth on the depth chart, and that’s where he appeared to be this fall.

Maurer had a pretty good spring game, but the addition of Joe Milton seemingly killed any chance he had at the job. Milton is now battling with Hendon Hooker and Bailey for the starting job, and Maurer will seemingly be the first man out of the race.

We’ll be watching this situation closely today.