On October 22, 2011, Worley was pushed into action against #2 Alabama Crimson Tide in relief of quarterback Matt Simms.

[6][7] After a 14–3 home loss to South Carolina the next week at Neyland Stadium,[8] Worley recorded his first career victory with the Volunteers against Middle Tennessee.

In the 24–0 home victory over the Blue Raiders, Worley threw his first career collegiate touchdown to wide receiver Da'Rick Rogers.

In the 2012 season, Cordarrelle Patterson, who Worley was teammates with in high school, joined the Volunteers after transferring from Hutchinson Community College.

Bray left Tennessee to enter the 2013 NFL draft, and Worley was named the starting quarterback over Nathan Peterman, Joshua Dobbs, and Riley Ferguson after training camp.

In the season opener against Austin Peay at home, Worley had a solid outing with 104 passing yards and three touchdowns in the 45–0 win.

[18][19] However, after a 52–20 win over Western Kentucky at home,[20][21] he was benched after a poor performance in Tennessee's 59–14 loss at Autzen Stadium to Oregon[22][23] for Nathan Peterman.

[24] Peterman started the next game against the Florida Gators at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, but played poorly in the first half and was injured.

[27] He had a solid performance against in a home game against #11 South Carolina, where he led Tennessee to its first win over a ranked team in several years with a game-changing pass to wide receiver Marquez North, which set up a Michael Palardy field goal as time expired to win the game by a score of 23–21.

[36] After a narrow 10–9 home loss to Florida[37] and a 45–10 victory over Chattanooga,[38] Worley would play in the last game of his Tennessee career against #3 Ole Miss at Vaught–Hemingway Stadium.

Before his injury, Worley's contributions played a role in helping Tennessee get in position to return to a bowl game.