Tennessee Football 2011: Why Tyler Bray Is Poised for a Breakout Season

The Tennessee Volunteers have been looking for a great quarterback since Peyton Manning.

Well, Tyler Bray may be that guy in 2011.

Bray showcased impressive talent during his rookie season last year, throwing for nearly 1,900-yards and 18 touchdowns in only nine games.

The Tennessee sophomore has been given the full reigns as the offensive play caller by second-year head coach Derek Dooley.

Backup option Matt Simms, son of Phil Simms, proved last year that he can still get it done in the SEC, but considering Bray is 6'6" and more athletic, it's an easy call for Dooley and a rebuilding Volunteer football team.

With that said, here are the top-six reasons why Tyler Bray is poised for a breakout year.

Early Season Schedule

A very important aspect for Tyler Bray breaking out in 2011 is the Tennessee Volunteers early season schedule.

The Vols are pegged to square-off at home against Montana and Cincinnati in their first two games, and considering Cincy went 4-8 in 2010 and Montana is a Division I-AA football squad, Tennessee could be in line for some easy wins.

This could bod well for Bray who's going to look to start the year off hot and take that confidence into a week 3 showdown with SEC rival Florida.

Tennessee has two more easy home games spread throughout their 12 game schedule, one coming against Buffalo and the other Middle Tennessee State.

These worthwhile match-ups are going to help Bray and the Volunteer offense gain some perspective and flow as they take their talents into bigger scraps with LSU, Florida, Vanderbilt, South Carolina, and Alabama.

Size

At 6'6", Tyler Bray stands in as one of the biggest quarterbacks in the country.

He still might be one of the leaner players in the conference, especially at his position, but Bray has put on over 20 lbs since coming out of high school last year.

If the young quarterback can manage to pack on just a little more muscle, he could turn into one of the most athletic position players around.

His height has helped him better adapt to the fast paced college games, using it to look over his offensive line and put more velocity on the football.

The three-time SEC freshman of the week isn't going to win any games on his feet, but he has nice speed to go along with his strong arm.

If Bray can consistently develop his on-field assets and off-field workout regiments, there's no reason why he can't transform into a Joe Flacco-esk player.

Skill Set

Tyler Bray was a 4-star recruit coming out of high school.

As of now, he's lived up to that potential.

Bray has fed into his coaches ideas and schemes, making him a potential top-level college quarterback going forward in his career.

Remember, Bray is only a sophomore and really only got his feet wet in nine games during 2010, so the sky's the limit.

He's got one of the biggest arms in college, may be the biggest quarterback in the country, and has the skill set to out perform competition.

For 2011, Bray is going to focus all his energy on improving his completion percentage from last year (55 percent), but his near 2:1—TD:INT ratio has a lot of people psyched for the upcoming season.

Bray's on-field prowess is only growing and the Volunteers are the immediate beneficiaries.

Experience

Experience is everything for a young quarterback, college or pro.

It's the difference between making those common mistakes or taking a second to scan the situation and make the best possible decision.

For Tyler Bray, coming into the 2011 football season with nine games under his belt is going to do wonders when he gets the nod against tough SEC teams.

As mentioned before, Bray threw for 18 touch downs in his nine appearances last year, receiving some confidence and coaching knowledge to help prepare for this season.

If you were to look at his final four games from last year, which all led to the Tennessee Volunteers making a bowl game, you'd think Bray was an All-American.

He recorded 300-plus yards in three of those four games, throwing 12 touch downs to only four interceptions.

Along with the fact that some of those games were against fairly competitive teams in Vanderbilt and Ole Miss, Bray really came on towards the end of 2010, making it easy to say he's adapted quite well to the college level.

If the final stretch of last year is any indication for Bray's success in 2011, Tennessee could be a nine win team by season's end.

Derek Dooley

Derek Dooley has been everything for Tyler Bray.

When a first-year head coach comes in with a freshman quarterback, it becomes only natural for a stronger bond to be formed.

Dooley not only trusted Bray to play in nearly every game during his first year at Tennessee, but he handed him the starting job towards the end of the season.

If Bray wants to improve and succeed at even a higher level, Dooley is going to have to maintain that respect and willingness to educate his young quarterback about playing football at the college level.

After going 6-6 in his first year as head coach, Dooley himself has some room for improvement.

He'll look to maturate Bray even more in his sophomore campaign, allowing the quarterback to gain a feel for a full season and ultimately helping out Dooley create a successful turnaround at Tennessee.

They're both capable of performing at a high level, so a combination of the two would suggest that the Volunteers are in for one heck of a season.

Potential

For college quarterbacks, potential and on-field evolution is everything for a successful four-year career.

Rarely do you see a young freshman step in for his team and rack off nine wins and bowl victory.

It takes time. 

A young play caller like Tyler Bray thrives with a full season under his belt, helping him make better snap decisions in the pocket, form stronger relationships with his teammates and coaches, and learning the offensive schemes and tendencies of his receivers.

This all culminates into potential and Bray has loads of it.

He has the arm, the size, played well through his first year jitters, has all the confidence in the world from his coaches, and has a great work ethic.

Along with an early season schedule that features two near locks for wins, Bray's skill set and overall potential is going to be the key ingredients for a breakout 2011 season at Tennessee.