KNOXVILLE – On Sept. 14, Tennessee football coach Jeremy Pruitt stood in front of a group of reporters after the Volunteers’ 45-0 win over the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and defended quarterback Jarrett Guarantano.
The redshirt junior and third-year starter had struggled in back-to-back losses against Georgia State and BYU to open the season, but when the Football Championship Subdivision’s Mocs visited Neyland Stadium, he finished 7-of-8 passing for 142 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions.
“I think you guys probably give yourselves more credit than you deserve,” Pruitt said that day. “The rest of us, we ain’t really worried about what you say when it comes to our quarterback and all of that. So we just went business as usual.
“Jarrett’s our quarterback, OK? And he’ll be our quarterback until we decide that he’s not. But he deserves to be our quarterback. He’s outplayed everybody.”
Pruitt’s comments on Wednesday afternoon, when he held his regular midweek news conference, suggested there may now be a decision to make.
Staff photo by C.B. Schmelter / Tennessee quarterbacks coach Chris Weinke looks on as freshman Brian Maurer warms up before the Vols’ home game against UTC on Sept. 14.After benching Guarantano for three consecutive series in favor of freshman Brian Maurer to start the second half of this past Saturday’s 34-3 loss to ninth-ranked Florida, Pruitt said Guarantano, Maurer and redshirt freshman J.T. Shrout will have “the same amount of reps” during practices this week. The Vols (1-3, 0-1 Southeastern Conference) do not have a game this weekend and will return to competition Oct. 5, when they host third-ranked Georgia (4-0, 1-0) for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
“We have to change the reps. We have to do that,” Pruitt said. “There’s no secrets anymore. We know we’ve got to get better production out of that position, just like we do all of them, so we’ve got to give these guys an opportunity and this is a good chance to do that this week.”
Guarantano started six of the nine games he played in two years ago, when he was 86-of-139 passing for 997 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions, and he started all 12 of Tennessee’s games last season, finishing 153-of-246 for 1,907 yards with 12 touchdowns and three interceptions.
After completing more than 62% of his passes over the past two seasons, Guarantano has been even better in that regard this year at nearly 65% (60-of-93) and has thrown seven touchdowns. However, he has been intercepted four times, lost a fumble – after being sacked – and missed on some key throws, including a likely long gain to wide-open tight end Dominick Wood-Anderson last Saturday.
Maurer led the Vols to a field goal on the first series of the third quarter at Florida. After that, he wasn’t much more effective, with his passing totals against the Gators 4-for-11 for 44 yards, with half of those yards coming on a completion to Marquez Callaway.
“Jarrett has not been as good as he would like to be at certain times but has also made some really good throws and some really good decisions,” Pruitt said. “It’s no different from the defensive line, linebackers or secondary. Everybody in our program has to raise their level. We have to be more consistent and create the right habits so they show up on game day.”
Three more exit
Pruitt confirmed Wednesday that linebackers Will Ignont and Shanon Reid and receiver Jacquez Jones have entered the NCAA’s transfer portal.
Entering the portal doesn’t necessarily mean the players are leaving the program, but it’s a step in that direction. Defensive lineman Kurott Garland entered the portal during the preseason but elected to remain with the Vols and resumed practicing before the season opener.
Staff photo by C.B. Schmelter / Tennessee football coach Jeremy Pruitt talks to linebacker Will Ignont after he was flagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against UTC on Sept. 14 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville.Ignont played the first three games this season – starting two at inside linebacker while senior Daniel Bituli was out due to injury – and was fifth on the team in tackles with 16, but the junior didn’t make the trip to Florida. When asked after the game Saturday about Ignont’s absence, Pruitt noted the team “was only allowed to bring 70 players and brought the ones that gave the team the best chance to win.”
Reid had appeared in all four of the Vols’ games so far this season at inside linebacker and totaled 11 tackles, with seven coming against UTC.
Jones is a redshirt sophomore who did not play as a freshman due to injury and did not appear in any games last season. He played the first three games this season and had one carry for 9 yards against BYU.
Not including Ignont, Jones or Reid, the Vols have had three players transfer since the beginning of the season – sophomore defensive back Terrell Bailey, sophomore receiver Maleik Gray and junior receiver Jordan Murphy.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.