Tennessee football: Vols need Jarrett Guarantano to be more than game manager

Tennessee football quarterback Jarrett Guarantano has been a solid game manager through three games. But with SEC play beginning, the Volunteers need more.

On the surface, you couldn’t ask for much more out of Jarrett Guarantano. The guy has the 10th best completion percentage in all of FBS at this moment, and he hasn’t yet thrown an interception. Tennessee football could not get a more efficient quarterback. But with SEC play beginning, that’s not going to be enough for the Vols.

Guarantano has completed 39 of 54 passes on the season, but he only has two touchdowns. And he’s only thrown for 494 yards on the year, averaging just over 130 passing yards a game. Now, to be fair, the last two were in hand by halftime.

But the fact still remains that Guarantano hasn’t been much of a playmaker for the Vols yet. The biggest reason to start him over Keller Chryst, the reason he would’ve ever won that job, was that reward of his big arm and mobility outweighs the limited risks with Chryst’s pinpoint accuracy.

So even though he’s been very efficient, by not using his arm or mobility so far this year, Guarantano has not shown exactly what we are supposed to see from him to hype him up. We already mentioned the limited amount of yards. It’s also worth noting that Guarantano, who is supposed to be mobile, has only run with the ball five times through three games. He’s been sacked five other times.

Jeremy Pruitt tried to defend this on Monday, noting that by managing the game and the clock, Guarantano is indeed being a playmaker. But that’s a big lie, and he and Tyson Helton have to know that what Guarantano is doing won’t be good enough when the tough schedule begins.

Look, Tennessee football does not have the talent to make it through an SEC schedule this year with just a game manager at quarterback. Somebody should tell Pruitt that he’s not coaching the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Vols can’t just win by keeping things low scoring and using an opportunistic defense. The defense still has too much work to do.

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

If UT is going to win any of its big games in SEC play, they need to get some plays going in the passing game. The fact of the matter is the Vols have the weapons to do it as well. We know Jauan Jennings can be a game-changer. Marquez Callaway has demonstrated elite playmaking ability in the past. And while those two exist, Josh Palmer was the best receiver in preseason practice.

With such talent at the position, just using Guarantano to dink and dunk down the field and then focusing on the running game will not be nearly enough to win games. Tennessee football is going to need some big plays to make the difference.

Tyson Helton didn’t arrive for nothing. Guarantano was a game-manager last year in Larry Scott’s offense when he became a starter. The result was nine points against the South Carolina Gamecocks. The idea of getting Helton was to allow a high-scoring offense similar to what we saw with him and Jeff Brohm at the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers to take shape. We haven’t seen that just yet.

When, or if, Pruitt is able to lure athletes to the Vols the way Saban does to Alabama or Kirby Smart does to the Georgia Bulldogs, he can start using his quarterback to just make efficient throws and be a game manager. Until then, Tennessee football needs a big-time playmaker. They haven’t gotten that from Guarantano yet.