Tennessee football: 4 reasons Jarrett Guarantano should start for the Vols

No.2 – Grow with Guarantano

There is no question that the Tennessee football program has more time to grow with Jarrett Guarantano than Keller Chryst. He is only a sophomore, and with more experience, he could be the long-term answer at the quarterback position for the Vols.

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With the First Pick

Guarantano’s first start came against the South Carolina Gamecocks where he passed for 133 yards on 11-of-18 with no touchdowns and no interceptions.

It appeared that Guarantano was going to lead the Vols down the field in the closing seconds of the game, but Brandon Johnson couldn’t reel in a perfect pass in the corner of the end zone for a Tennessee win.

Those are the type of growing pains that turn a good quarterback to a great quarterback. Just look at how much Josh Dobbs improvement throughout his career.

He played in five games his freshman season. In those five games, Dobbs threw for 695 yards with a 59.5 passing percentage with two touchdowns and six interceptions.

Those numbers don’t come close to comparing to Guarantano’s freshman season. One could argue that Dobbs played on a better team as well.

Growing with a quarterback is not easy. And, in some cases, it is not the right answer. However, if Guarantano and Keller Chryst are close in the coaches eyes, the nod should go to the younger player. In this case, it would be Guarantano.