He did not look good in his first start against the South Carolina Gamecocks. In fact, Jarrett Guarantano looked awful in the second half until that final drive. But as we’ve said for the past two weeks, the coaches set him up to fail there.
Betsided
And it should be no indication of how good or bad Guarantano actually is. He was not put in a good situation.
Somehow, though, he still got them in position to win late in the game. So while I still say Quinten Dormady should be the starter, Guarantano did show some life. And after getting his first start against Will Muschamp, he’s got his second start against Nick Saban.
Talk about an unfair draw!
But with us not knowing yet how good Guarantano is, he is the most important player on the field if Tennessee football is to win the game. That’s because Saban’s biggest achilles heel has been talented quarterbacks that he’s not ready for.
Guarantano, starting his second game, is clearly that. He does have a good arm, is mobile, and is accurate. But his problem right now is that he sits in the pocket far too long, and that cost the Vols this past Saturday.
He needs to make decisions and pull the trigger more quickly without making mistakes in the process.
That is everything he’ll need to do on Saturday. Again, this is not likely at all. But if he does it, Tennessee football could be in for the upset of the season. And Butch Jones would then look like a genius for making the switch during the bye week.