There are not a slew of pleasant memories to recount from Tennessee’s 2017 football season, when the Volunteers sustained eight losses for the first time in program history and endured their first winless run through Southeastern Conference play.
That, of course, resulted in the turbulent coaching transition from Butch Jones to interim Brady Hoke to current third-year mentor Jeremy Pruitt.
Tennessee’s leading passer in 2017 was redshirt freshman Jarrett Guarantano, while the leading receiver that year was sophomore Brandon Johnson. Due to a unique decision made by Johnson last September, the two could lead the Vols in those respective categories again for a program on much more solid footing.
Using an NCAA rule that was implemented before the 2018 season, Johnson played the first four games last year before electing to redshirt, which protected his eligibility and enabled him to be a fifth-year senior now.
“I’m definitely confident it will turn out to be the right decision for me,” Johnson said on a recent Zoom call. “It wasn’t just a decision for myself. It was a decision for my team. I felt like I would be better suited to help my team out this year, and I don’t regret anything.”