Miami Dolphins first-round quarterback Ryan Tannehill was impressive in his first NFL scrimmage and was impressive coming off the bench in his first NFL preseason game.
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Tonight we'll get to see if the No. 8 overall draft pick of the 2012 NFL Draft can be impressive as the starting quarterback.
Ben Volin of the Palm Beach Post first reported that veteran broadcaster Dick Stockton, who handles the play-by-play duties for the Dolphins preseason games, disclosed during a Friday morning appearance on WAXY-AM in Miami that Tannehill would get the start Friday against the Carolina Panthers.
NFL.com and NFL Network's Jeff Darlington later confirmed this report. Stockton added that No. 2 quarterback Matt Moore would enter the game in the third quarter, which means the first half will belong to Tannehill.
In his first NFL action, Tannehill completed 14-of-21 pass attempts for 167 yards and a touchdown. The rookie also drove the offense down to inside the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' five-yard line and appeared to throw his first NFL touchdown pass, but the play was overturned by the replay officials and the Dolphins would turn the ball over on downs on the next play.
Given Tannehill's familiarity with Mike Sherman's offense, and veteran David Garrard expected to miss a few weeks following knee surgery, another solid performance from the rookie tonight would almost certainly lead to another start next Friday against the Atlanta Falcons in the pivotal third preseason game. If that is the case, it would be hard to imagine the Dolphins starting Garrard or Moore when the season starts for real against the Houston Texans on Sept. 9.
Follow Brian McIntyre on Twitter @brian_mcintyre.