Up his sleeve: UT Vols' Justin Worley fine for Florida

photo Tennessee quarterback Justin Worley (14) throws from the pocket against Georgia.

VOLS GLANCE• Tennessee (2-2, 0-1 SEC) vs Florida (2-1, 1-1)• Neyland Stadium• Saturday, noon• SEC Network & 106.5 FM

KNOXVILLE -- The orange sleeve protecting Justin Worley's right elbow is more than a fashion statement.

It's another small piece of protection Tennessee's quarterback probably needs as he continues to lead the Volunteers from behind a young, inexperienced offensive line.

After suffering an elbow injury that knocked him out of three possessions in the second half of Saturday's loss at Georgia, Worley has been sporting a padded orange sleeve on his throwing arm in practice this week and plans to wear it when Tennessee hosts Florida on Saturday afternoon.

"I think Nathan [Peterman] took worse hits than I did," Worley said following Tuesday's practice.

"I think they've actually improved," he said of his linemen. "Whether or not people see it, I think they've done a good job improving week one to week six now. I think they've done a great job improving. There's always going to be leakage. I got hit when Ja'Wuan [James] and Tiny [Richardson] and all those guys were in there, too."

After allowing eight sacks and numerous quarterback hits in losses to Oklahoma and Georgia, the Vols' new offensive line faces a Florida defense that boasts talent and underwhelming numbers.

The Gators have just six sacks through three games and rank 13th in the SEC in passing defense and last in the league in passing efficiency defense. Kentucky's Patrick Towles was 24-of-45 for 359 yards in a three-overtime loss in Gainesville, and Alabama's Blake Sims threw for 445 yards on Will Muschamp's defense.

Worley is coming off a 264-yard, three-touchdown performance at Georgia, though it came with another injury scare.

His right elbow took a direct hit from Georgia linebacker Jordan Jenkins's helmet in the third quarter, and as he iced the arm and went back into the locker room for an X-ray, it appeared he might be done for the game.

"[Head athletic trainer] Jason [McVeigh] came up to me, and we communicate the injuries and all that on a case-by-case basis," Vols coach Butch Jones said. "They just thought that he had tweaked the funny bone and it was a matter of time, but you never know. To his credit, he was able to come back and lead us down to a valuable touchdown drive."

Worley said Tuesday he continues to experience some soreness in his elbow along with a "little discomfort" when throws, but while he expects that to go away by Saturday, he'll continue to wear the sleeve.

"There's padding on it," he said. "The trainers said they don't want any freak incidents to happen during practice. You never know if you're going to catch a helmet again, so I'd like to be able to protect it a little bit.

"It fits so tight that you don't really notice it's there. It's not necessarily just a fashion statement. It's there for protection."

If Worley can get enough protection to spread the ball to his receivers, Tennessee's offense should be able to put up yards and points. For the season, the senior is completing 60 percent of his passes and averaging an SEC sixth-best 246 passing yards per game with nine touchdowns to three interceptions.

He enjoyed what had to be a cool experience at Georgia with Tennessee legend Peyton Manning roaming the sideline and locker room with his Denver Broncos on their bye week.

Worley said Manning was giving him pointers on the sideline, particularly to continue grinding and avoid forcing throws.

"That was awesome," Worley said. "He's an awesome guy. I've actually been able to talk to him one on one in some different situations, but to have him talk to me on the sideline, that was pretty sweet. After the one-minute drive we put together to end the second quarter, he gave me a little fist bump and said, 'That was awesome.' That was pretty sweet.

"You've got to take anything he says and try to decipher it. It was good advice. He obviously knows what he's doing and what he's talking about."

As Saturday showed, Tennessee's season hinges largely on if the Vols' offensive line can keep Worley upright and healthy, and despite some bumps he's fine.

For now, at least.

"We're on the road up," Worley said. "We're making that slow increase and incline, and it's tough for these freshmen, but I think they've done a good job so far, for what we've asked them to do, at least."

Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.

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