KNOXVILLE – It had been only two weeks prior to Tennessee’s football game Saturday at Florida that a Brigham Young player made a tackle of Tennessee quarterback Jarrett Guarantano, grabbed his shoe and tossed it at the Volunteers’ sideline. Sensing an opportunity for playing time, freshman quarterback Brian Maurer ran into the game, unprompted.
Even though he was pulled back, head coach Jeremy Pruitt made note of the attempt, saying later, “I kind of liked it.”
Two weeks later, Maurer was running into the game against the ninth-ranked Gators, and nobody wearing orange – including the coaching staff – was surprised.
Maurer’s stint lasted three consecutive series as well as the final series of the game, but he did lead a drive ending in a Brent Cimaglia field goal resulting in the lone points in the 34-3 loss to Florida. He threw for 44 yards on 4-of-11 passing, ran for a yard on three carries and had one interception.
Staff photo by C.B. Schmelter / Tennessee quarterback Brian Maurer (18) gets past UTC defensive back Adrian King (28) during a NCAA football game at Neyland Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019 in Knoxville, Tenn.“He brings a lot of energy. He’s really eager to be on the field,” senior receiver Marquez Callaway said Saturday. “When his number is called he’s ready. We came out there and we had his back. We told him to be calm and to do what you’re supposed to do and to have fun with it. It’s nothing like practice, so go out there and just have fun with it.”
Pruitt has indicated repeatedy this season that he expects the youth to make mistakes, and he has said on each occasion that “they’ll be better” as time goes on. That hadn’t been the conversation at quarterback, where Guarantano seemingly was firmly entrenched as the starter with only Maurer and redshirt freshman J.T. Shrout behind him. But Guarantano’s poor start to the season appears to have opened a door there as well, with Pruitt stating after Saturday’s loss that the team “needs a leader” at that position.
The Vols are off this week, giving them nothing but practice time to clean up the litany of mistakes that have plagued them in a 1-3 start. The next time Tennessee steps onto the field for a game, it’ll be Oct. 5 at home against third-ranked Georgia. As Pruitt has been hinting, who plays could be contingent on how everybody performs in practice over the next two weeks.
“We’ve got so many young guys that are itching to play, but they’re not hardly ready and maybe in the next two weeks we can get some guys, and it will help us develop some depth in competition a little bit,” Pruitt said. “Got some guys that are older that need to learn and mature, too.”
Staff photo by C.B. Schmelter / Tennessee running back Eric Gray rushed for 77 yards on 17 carries during the Vols’ double-overtime loss to BYU last Saturday at Neyland Stadium.Pruitt has been high on his 2019 signing class, and Maurer just became the latest example from that group to have earned his way onto the field. Eric Gray is currently second on the team in rushing with 165 yards on 38 carries. On the offensive line, Wanya Morris has started three games at left tackle and Darnell Wright the past two at right guard. Linebacker Henry To’o To’o – who leads the team in tackles and tackles for loss and is tied for the lead in quarterback hurries – and cornerback Warren Burrell have started every game, while outside linebackers Quavaris Crouch and Roman Harrison and receiver Ramel Keyton have made their way into the rotations at their respective positions.
“I think we have guys that have lots of character,” Pruitt said on last week’s Southeastern Conference teleconference. “They have all the right intangibles. Do they have a lot to learn? Absolutely. As you watch all the young players across this league that play, you see the potential, you see the upside. And you know that one day they’re going to be really good football players.
“I don’t think that’s no different than the guys that we recruit. We felt like we evaluated some really good prospects that have high character and the right intangibles – good students. And they’re going to continue to develop and have lots of opportunities because of the opportunity to play here. Will they be better six weeks from now then they are today? Absolutely. And they should be better two years from now. But I like the guys that we signed in this last class. I think there are some guys there that have worked really hard and put theirselves in position to have success as freshmen. And we have a bunch of guys that are continuing to work to do that.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.