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Vols quarterback coach Chris Weinke builds bond with Jarrett Guarantano

From left, quarterbacks Jarrett Guarantano (2), Keller Chryst (19) and Will McBride (17) warm up before Tennessee's game at Georgia last September. Guarantano is the only one of the three still with the Vols. Chryst was a graduate transfer and McBride has transferred out.
From left, quarterbacks Jarrett Guarantano (2), Keller Chryst (19) and Will McBride (17) warm up before Tennessee's game at Georgia last September. Guarantano is the only one of the three still with the Vols. Chryst was a graduate transfer and McBride has transferred out. From left, quarterbacks Jarrett Guarantano (2), Keller Chryst (19) and Will McBride (17) warm up before Tennessee's game at Georgia last September. Guarantano is the only one of the three still with the Vols. Chryst was a graduate transfer and McBride has transferred out.

By Gene Henley 4 min read

photo Tennessee’s Jarrett Guarantano is preparing this spring for his second season as the Vols’ full-time starting quarterback, and he’s working with new position coach Chris Weinke and new offensive coordinator Jim Chaney.

KNOXVILLE – Chris Weinke is aware of what Jarrett Guarantano is going through.

And this season, Weinke has a greater opportunity to be a sounding board for the Tennessee junior quarterback.

Weinke, the 2000 Heisman Trophy winner at Florida State who went on to play in the NFL, was moved from running backs coach to quarterbacks coach this offseason during the Volunteers’ staff shakeup.

Weinke was 32-3 as the starting quarterback for the Seminoles, leading them to the national championship in the 1999 season. He had been their starter in 1998 until a neck injury ended his season – which, in his mind, paved the way for the Phillip Fulmer-coached Vols to win the first BCS national championship by beating Florida State 23-16 in the Fiesta Bowl in January 1999.

“I broke my neck in the 10th game of the season and wasn’t able to play against Tennessee, and it’s ironic how it comes full circle and now I’m back here coaching,” Weinke said. “Last year during the season they honored the 1998 national championship team here, and I told Coach Fulmer, ‘Do I get an invite? Because we all understand that if I’d played, you wouldn’t have had the ring.”