Tennessee football: Vols losing Dormady doesn’t mean Guarantano is the starter

Tennessee football losing Quinten Dormady to transfer does not guarantee that Jarrett Guarantano will become the Volunteers starting quarterback.

As the guy with the most raw talent on the team who also two years’ experience practicing and one playing at the college level, Jarrett Guarantano would seem to benefit the most from Tennessee football quarterback Quinten Dormady transferring. But don’t jump the gun on that just yet.

Guarantano still hasn’t won a game as a starter. He committed to play in Butch Jones’s system, and it’s still difficult to know if Jeremy Pruitt and Tyson Helton will run a better offense for him.

Helton’s offense is an offshoot of what Bobby Petrino does. Petrino likes quarterbacks with good size and big arms. However, if they don’t have a big arm, they need to be deadly accurate.

More from Vols Football

• How to Win a GUARANTEED $200 Bonus Betting Just $5 on the Vols vs. Florida!
• Tennessee Football at Florida: Five Keys to a Vols Victory
• Week 3 SEC Power Rankings: Did Tennessee Football’s Win Help At All?
• Week 3 AP Polls: Why Did Tennessee Football Drop in the Polls?
• Tennessee Football: Top Five Performers in 30-13 Win vs. Austin Peay

Guarantano showed flashes of a solid arm last year, but he wasn’t overly impressive. In this system, Dormady would have been much more likely to flourish given his accuracy. However, it’s understandable why he’d transfer.

So now that leaves us to break down Guarantano along with JT Shrout and Will McBride. McBride also saw action last year, and while he’s athletic, his arm doesn’t seem all that impressive.

As a result, Dormady’s transfer likely means the race will come down to Guarantano and Shrout, a true freshman. Don’t bet against Pruitt and Helton going with Shrout.

Remember, they all but turned away their top two quarterback commitments when they arrived on Rocky Top. Both were dual-threats committed to Jones. And then they turned towards California to get Shrout, a pure pocket passer.

It’s pretty clear that Helton and Pruitt want a drop-back passer based on that fact. They were willing to trade two elite dual-threats with a lesser rated pro-style guy. Given their willingness to do that, it’s very easy to see them leveraging their future with Shrout.

If you look at his high school tape, Shrout already has better mechanics than Guarantano, and he looked much more comfortable rolling out to make plays. His deep ball is also very beautiful.

Remember, also, that Shrout was a late bloomer. He got hurt in 2015 and had only one start until his senior season. That’s one reason he was only a three-star. If he had more playing experience, there’s a great chance he would have been higher up on the list.

After all, Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports noted last July, before he made headlines starting on the field, that Shrout was outplaying much better recruits at The Quarterback Collective. He drew more attention from NFL scouts and coaches as a result.

Guarantano, meanwhile, is very competitive and earned the respect of Tennessee football fans. But he made a number of mistakes at times.

So without Dormady, Guarantano still is not the clear-cut guy to start. Expect a very competitive race between him and Shrout this spring. And given the potential of Shrout and some of the evidence we provided, don’t be shocked if Shrout takes the starting job.