Vols Tyler Bray has broken thumb, out six weeks

The Vols actually got one more down out of Bray in a 20-12 loss on Saturday night to Georgia. But the next one provided the first test for an injured thumb, and more official examinations on Sunday confirmed what a fluttering pass hinted at, a broken bone on Bray’s throwing hand that will knock him out for six weeks, putting Simms back in charge again.

“The bottom line is that Matt Simms is going to come in and execute the same passing game, the same situations that we were going to be able to do with Tyler Bray,” quarterbacks coach Darin Hinshaw said during an appearance on The Derek Dooley Show. “Same thing with freshman Justin Worley, and that’s the way it’s going to be.

“Go out and execute, and that’s why we always give the second-string guy reps during practice and the third-string guy. We’re constantly working that offense so when he’s ready to go in, he’s ready to perform.”

Simms took advantage of his first chance to do it in a pressure situation in nearly a year, relieving Bray late in the game, completing a pair of clutch fourth-downs and punching in a touchdown with a sneak to draw the Vols (3-2, 0-2 SEC) within a score.

The senior ultimately didn’t have enough time to get UT any closer, but that won’t be an issue with the reins of the offense back in his hands as the program prepares for the two top-ranked teams in the country in LSU and Alabama over the next couple weeks.

After banging his hand into a Georgia helmet and suffering the fracture in his thumb, Bray will be limited to watching from the sideline during the heart of the SEC schedule for the Vols, giving them another significant injury to deal with after previously losing wide receiver Justin Hunter for the season to torn knee ligaments.