KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Matt Simms might have come to Tennessee four months ago as somewhat of an insurance policy, but he exits the spring as the front-runner to be Tennessee’s starting quarterback next season.

It’s all been one giant whirlwind since Simms signed in December.

First, there was the departure of Lane Kiffin and most of his staff in January to Southern California. Less than a week later, Derek Dooley was the Vols’ new coach.

And most recently, senior quarterback Nick Stephens decided to leave the program after being told that his reps during spring practice would decrease.

Just like that, it was Simms’ job to lose.

“It’s definitely gone by fast, trying to learn everything all at once and put it all together at once,” Simms said. “But the leaning curve is good right now, and I feel good about the direction we’re headed.”

Simms is the younger brother of NFL quarterback Chris Simms, who just recently signed with the Tennessee Titans. It was almost a decade ago that the elder Simms committed to Tennessee publicly, only to change his mind and sign with Texas instead.

Matt Simms jokes that at least one member of the family “got it right.”

He’s also pumped about having his older brother so close by this next season.

He’s even more pumped about proving to everybody that he and the rest of his offensive mates can get it done in the SEC despite their inexperience.

“We have to understand there is going to be bumps in the road, but the thing that has to happen is that we need to become a good unit and learn to work together,” said Simms, who played last season at El Camino College in Torrance, Calif. “Even though we’re all young and don’t have a lot of experience, the guys on this team have a lot of heart. That’s one thing every team needs.”

With the Vols closing spring practice this Saturday with their annual Orange and White Game, Simms’ goal is to have his most consistent week yet, and for he and the entire offense to go into the offseason with some momentum.

In the scrimmage last weekend, he was just 8-of-25 for 110 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He admits he was overly anxious, especially in light of Stephens’ decision to leave the team a few days earlier.

“My decision-making has been pretty good these past few weeks,” Simms said. “Now, it’s putting it all together and proving to everyone that I can be the guy. In the scrimmage, I made some good decisions, but wasn’t on top of everything the way I should be. That’s what I’m looking forward to this week, cleaning that up.”

Simms still has to beat out true freshman Tyler Bray, and first-year Tennessee coach Derek Dooley isn’t ready to say which way he’s leaning.

The emphasis this spring has been identifying their strengths and weaknesses so that the staff can structure preseason camp to fit what they do best.

“We have every play in football,” Dooley said. “We’ve got some great coaches with great ideas, but taking that system and fitting it to our players and putting them in a position where they can play fast and perform as best they can and grow into the job … that’s going to be the real challenge for us as coaches.”

Dooley said it’s too early to tell if both Simms and Bray will play next season.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I think both of them have very good ability for us to go out there and win football games, so I feel good about their talent level. I feel good about their knowledge of football. I feel good about their command, their willingness to be the guy. But only time will tell who’s going to end our season as quarterback.”