KNOXVILLE - Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt said during his Wednesday news conference that all three of his scholarship quarterbacks will be available to play in Saturday's homecoming game against the University of Alabama at Birmingham, but he did not reveal his starter.
Redshirt junior Jarrett Guarantano had to have surgery after breaking a bone in his left (non-throwing) hand during last Saturday's win against South Carolina, which freshman Brian Maurer had to sit out after sustaining concussions in consecutive games against Mississippi State and Alabama.
Guarantano started the first four games this season, Maurer started the next three and they've been joined by redshirt freshman J.T. Shrout - the team's other scholarship quarterback - in playing a part in wins this year.
"They're all ready to go," Pruitt said. "How we play them, we have not decided yet. We've still got a couple more practices here to see and make a decision as we get closer to the game."
Senior wide receiver Jauan Jennings actually took the first two snaps for Tennessee in last week's 41-21 win before giving way to Shrout. Jennings didn't attempt a pass, but Guarantano and Shrout combined to throw for 351 yards and three touchdowns.
Maurer was unable to finish any of his starts due to injury, with Guarantano replacing him against Georgia as well as against Mississippi State and Alabama.
In other injury-related news, Pruitt said senior linebacker Darrell Taylor would be available to play Saturday but that the status of offensive linemen Jahmir Johnson and Darnell Wright would be game-time decisions.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.