Tennessee football fortunes rest with Nico Iamaleava. But things happen, as history shows. | Strange

Everyone remembers good Tennessee football in the 1990s. One of the main reasons was a run of capable quarterbacks.

Heath Shuler and Peyton Manning were Heisman Trophy runners-up. They were sandwiched between SEC champion Andy Kelly and national champion Tee Martin.

Here’s another reason it was a memorable decade. Those quarterbacks stayed healthy.

From 1990 through 1999 – with one exception – Tennessee started the same quarterback in every game of the season: Kelly in 1990 and ’91; Shuler in ’92 and ’93; Manning in 1995-97; Martin in 1998 and ‘99.

The outlier was 1994. When Jerry Colquitt was injured on the season’s opening drive, a scramble ensued. Manning emerged in the fifth game.

Fast forward to 2024. Coach Josh Heupel says his fourth UT roster is his deepest at numerous positions. Quarterback, however, isn’t necessarily one of them.

Redshirt freshman Nico Iamaleava is the starter on whom the season’s hopes are pinned. Behind him are true freshman Jake Merklinger and a couple of veterans who arrived as walk-ons, Gaston Moore and Navy Shuler.

Perhaps Iamaleava never misses a beat. But things happen. Quarterbacks get hurt, are ineffective or, lately, skip bowl games.

My crack research staff reviewed 40 years of UT starting quarterbacks, dating to 1984. Here are our notes.

Manning went 39-6 as a starter. After his first start he never missed another.

Casey Clausen was 34-10 from 2000-2003. An amazing stat, he was 14-1 in true road games.

Erik Ainge was 27-10 from 2004-07. After two injury-plagued years, he flourished under offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe in 2006-07.

Kelly was 24-5-2 from 1989-91. One of those 24 was the Miracle in South Bend.

Josh Dobbs went 23-12 from 2013-16.

Martin was 22-3, significantly 13-0 in 1998.

Jeff Francis went 20-12-1 in the up-and-down late 1980s.

Shuler went 19-5 then skipped his senior year to enter the NFL draft.

Hendon Hooker went 15-7 in the Heupel renaissance.

Tyler Bray was 13-11 for Derek Dooley. His shower discipline was strong, too.

Jarrett Guarantano went 12-19 in the turbulence from 2017-2020, starting games in each of those four best-forgotten seasons.

Joe Milton went 11-5, eight wins coming in 2023.

Tony Robinson was 10-5-1 when he injured his knee in the 1985 Alabama game.

Jonathan Crompton finished 10-9, seven wins coming in 2009 under Lane Kiffin.

That’s it for the double-figures club. But there are good stories among the 21 other starters in this 40-year study.

Sterling Henton was 7-0 until a 1989 loss to Alabama, then was replaced by Kelly.

Daryl Dickey never lost. He was 6-0-2, replacing the injured Robinson in 1985 and guiding the Vols to SEC and Sugar Bowl titles.

Justin Worley went 8-9 in the bowl-less 2011-13 struggles.

Brent Schaeffer went 3-0 to open the 2004 season. He took the opening snaps then shared time with fellow freshman Ainge, who became the starter in game four.

Rick Clausen went 4-6 as Ainge’s injury replacement in 2004 and ’05. He was the Cotton Bowl MVP in ’04.

Chris Simms went 2-8 as Dooley’s first option in 2010-11.

Todd Helton was 1-2 in the 1994 gap between Colquitt and Manning. That’s batting .333.

A.J. Suggs went 1-3 in 2000. The win was 70-3 over UL-Monroe, still a school scoring record.

James Banks, a receiver, won his only start in 2002, at Mississippi State, when Clausen was injured. Banks was 3-of-8 passing.

Retiring 1-0 were Joey Mathews (Southern Miss, 2000) and J.T. Shrout (UAB, 2019).

Jauan Jennings took the opening snap in a 2019 win over South Carolina. As a reward for the 2016 Hail Mary catch at Georgia, I’m giving him the W.

Mike Strange is a former writer for the News Sentinel. He currently writes a sports column for Shopper News.