Quick Colquitt Gives UCLA Lots to Worry About : College football: Heath Shuler’s replacement at Tennessee will be closely watched in debut against Bruins.

On Jan. 9, as people all over Tennessee crowded around radios and televisions to learn the future of the university’s quarterback, Jerry Colquitt got in his car, punched up Boyz II Men and headed down the road.

He was the future.

And the future is now, beginning today at 5 p.m. at the Rose Bowl when Colquitt leads the 13th-ranked Volunteers in their season opener against No. 14 UCLA.

It has been a long time coming, and if Heath Shuler had not decided to skip his senior season at Knoxville to go to the NFL, it might not have happened at all. It was a gamble, Colquitt’s staying at Tennessee after Shuler had won the job in their sophomore years by leading a two-touchdown comeback against Georgia.

The competition had been so close, it had not been decided until that day in Athens, Ga., in the second game of the 1992 season.

“I’ve always had the desire to go out and be the No. 1 guy, and if Heath had stayed, it would have had a great impact on my future,” Colquitt said. “His leaving gave me a great opening and opportunity to play quarterback.”

It is the No. 3 position in Tennessee, behind only the governor and the university’s football coach--the order changes at kickoff--and to have been so close to the job has been frustrating.

“I have only one year to do it,” Colquitt said. “The fact I’ve endured the hardship (of being No. 2) makes it all the more special. I’ve really paid a price with a lot of hard work.”

He’s the wild card in the Volunteers’ deck.

They have all five starters back in an offensive line that could be college football’s best, and running back James (Little Man) Stewart, who rushed for 1,161 yards and eight touchdowns last season, is back, too. But Shuler, who passed for 2,354 yards and 25 touchdowns, was handing the ball to him. Now he is in the NFL, the third player picked in the draft and the first quarterback. Colquitt, who completed 19 of 26 passes for 233 yards and four touchdowns, with one interception, in spot duty, is the starter.

“When he’s played, he’s played well,” said UCLA Coach Terry Donahue. “He was a great player in high school (at Oak Ridge, Tenn.), and he’s a great athlete.

“Our biggest concern going into the game is his athletic ability at that position. Will he be so quick, so athletic that he makes our defense look slow?”

He might. Colquitt runs a 4.62-second 40-yard dash, but his long suit is throwing the ball. In a recent scrimmage, he was 10 for 10, and as a high school junior, he rallied Oak Ridge from a six-point deficit by taking the team 96 yards in the final 80 seconds to beat Cleveland High.

“If Tennessee fans have that concern (about Colquitt’s ability), I wish I could show them a film,’ said Joe Gaddis, Colquitt’s high school coach.

Leave it in Tennessee, say UCLA coaches. They don’t want to see it.

They have problems of their own, beginning with learning how the Volunteers’ secondary plans to play wide receiver J.J. Stokes. Can quarterback Wayne Cook get the ball to him?

“They will complete passes,” said Tennessee safety Jason Parker. “Our job is to stop them from getting into the end zone.”

Stokes is certainly no secret, but the Volunteer defense has played against talented receivers before.

“I’d rather cover a 6-foot-5 receiver than cover a (5-8) David Palmer (of Alabama),” said Parker. “A 6-foot-5 receiver is a bigger target, but you can see him on the field. A David Palmer-type of receiver, he’s so small, he can get into little creases and make catches.”

Parker is one of three returning Tennessee defensive backs whose job will be made more difficult if an inexperienced defensive line can’t pressure Cook.

But that’s their problem. Colquitt’s is solving a UCLA defense that has experience up front, but which has new starters at safety in Paul Guidry and Abdul McCullough.

And Colquitt must deal with the nervousness of his first start and the expectations of Tennessee fans, 8,000 of whom will be in the Rose Bowl.

One way to do both might be to keep the ball on the ground until the butterflies go away.

“I think Tennessee will come out running the ball and try to run it all night, “ said Donahue. “I think they will come out and pound it.

“Hopefully, there will be some passing situations that our defense can force them into.”

That’s fine with Colquitt, who has had enough questions about Shuler.

“I’m finally going to get my chance to do what I’ve always wanted to do,” Colquitt said.

His future is now, and it has been a long time coming.

UCLA BRUINS TODAY’S GAME

* Opponent: Tennessee.

* Site: Rose Bowl.

* Time: 5 p.m.

* Records (1993): UCLA 8-4, 6-2 in Pac-10; Tennessee 9-2-1, 6-1-1 in SEC.

* Radio: XTRA (690/670).

* TV: Channel 7.