KNOXVILLE – Jarrett Guarantano will get another chance to prove himself this week – probably.
On Wednesday, Tennessee football coach Butch Jones said he thinks the redshirt freshman quarterback has “earned the right to play some” when the Volunteers (2-1) welcome Massachusetts (0-4) to Neyland Stadium at noon Saturday.
Jones said the same thing before the Vols’ season opener against Georgia Tech, but only starter Quinten Dormady played in Tennessee’s 42-41, double-overtime victory.
The obvious difference this week is the level of competition. Tennessee is a 28-point favorite over the Minutemen as the Vols look to rebound from their offensive struggles in last week’s 26-20 loss at Florida.
Tennessee backup quarterback Jarrett Guarantano hasn’t had much playing time this season, but that could change in Saturday’s game against UMass.“We need to get him involved in the offense this week, and we would like to have the opportunity to do that,” Jones said of Guarantano. “Jarrett’s had a very, very good week of preparation.”
Guarantano played a single snap last week against the Gators – and it didn’t count. With him in the shotgun, the Vols were flagged for a false start on the Florida 1-yard line while trailing 6-3 in the third quarter. Guarantano was only in the game because Dormady had tweaked his knee on the previous play.
The New Jersey native and prized prospect from the 2016 recruiting class made his collegiate debut in Tennessee’s 42-7 win over Indiana State in week two with a 4-for-12 passing performance and a touchdown. He played four series, including two in the first half before the game was out of reach.
Jones did not specify when Guarantano’s opportunity might come Saturday.
“Again, every game is a mentality when you’re the number two quarterback right now, you’re one snap away from playing,” he said. “It takes so much in preparation when you go into the game and you’re the number two for that game, because you have to have a starter’s mindset. You have to be mentally tough and you have to be ready, because the difference is you never know when you’re going to have to go into the game. Jarrett has worked very, very hard with that.”
Dormady has been scrutinized for calling an audible against Florida when the Vols were a yard away from scoring in the third quarter. Jones and offensive coordinator Larry Scott have each said this week that Dormady was technically correct to switch from a called run to a pass in the first-down situation.
The junior has also been criticized for throwing off his back foot at times, which Scott attributed to a combination of factors.
“He knows that each and every position across the board has things we’ve got to work on fundamentally to continue to work on and get better at,” Scott said. “That’s a joint thing between being a little bit tighter up front and him understanding that sometimes I’ve got to step into it, trust the pocket and deliver the ball.”
Contact David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com.