What Tennessee is facing in Georgia Tech quarterback Alberto Mendoza
· Yahoo Sports
Tennessee’s first real test comes this weekend in Atlanta, and the opposing quarterback will feature a name on the back of his jersey that all college football fans are aware of. Alberto Mendoza, fresh off of transferring from Indiana last season, won the starting job for Georgia Tech back in the spring. The younger brother of Fernando is now looking to avoid starting 0-2 as a starter.
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Mendoza flashed in mop-up duty last season for the Hoosiers, showing off the athleticism with a 58-yard touchdown run and tossing five more through the air. However, in his first start for the Yellow Jackets, his offense could only muster 13 points.
It was the first college start for the junior passer, and with a new offensive coordinator and several new faces on offense, Georgia Tech coach Brent Key wasn’t exactly surprised with the slow start.
“He’s got command,” Key said back in August. “He knows where all 10 guys are supposed to be and where all 11 guys on defense are supposed to be. But at the end of the day, you say these things, and he still has not started a college football game. He’s a sophomore, right? He’s going to take his lumps and his bumps. That’s on us as coaches not to have to put the whole thing into the arsenal to start.”
Mendoza now does have that first start under his belt, where he went 17-23 passing for 237 yards. To his credit, Mendoza had Georgia Tech in position late to go win the game with a field goal, but a block from Boo Carter sealed the Colorado win.
“I thought he played extremely smart the other night,” Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said. “You can see him be able to progress through his reads, one through five, get all the way to the back side of the concept and do it extremely quickly. Was accurate with the football. Athletic enough to extend, make plays as a passer and has the feet to go gain yards afterwards, too. I thought he played extremely well the other night.”
The Tennessee secondary went untested last weekend against Furman, as expected. The Volunteers bring back Ty Redmond, who now has a year of experience as a starter. They added veteran cornerback Kayin Lee from Auburn, along with veteran nickel Qua Moss. More veterans — TJ Metcalf and Dejaun Lane — complete the lineup at safety. Despite the experience, it’s still a new system from Jim Knowles that they’re all learning. Of course, Tennessee didn’t have to show much last week, but Mendoza is talented enough to test them all over the field.
As Heupel pointed out, Mendoza is a good enough athlete to make you pay as a runner. Keeping contain will be another key for the Volunteers, maybe even more so if Xavier Gilliam repeats his performance from a week ago and wrecks the interior.
“Quarterback, really good arm, good accuracy,” Tennessee safeties and co-defensive coordinator Anthony Poindexter said of Georgia Tech. “They’ve got skill players that we did not see a week ago, they’ve got two or three receivers that can go. They’ve got a nice room of tight ends, multiple formations, multiple shifts and motions, so they’re going to make you think before you snap. It’ll be a challenge.”
Tennessee and Georgia Tech are set for a 7 p.m. ET kickoff on Saturday night. ESPN will have the call.