Tennessee football stock report after week 8: Vols WRs soaring

Stock down

Left guard

So we first pinpointed it to the offensive line. Then we pinpointed to the interior line. Now, it’s clear. Tennessee football’s issues on offense almost solely come down to the left guard. There’s literally no way around it. Jarrett Guarantano’s first turnover was because of a missed blitz by the left guard on Saturday. The Vols could not run the ball because of how useless that side was.

And then Keller Chryst tripped over the left guard, which caused the second half safety. That one position has been bad all year, and it was horrendous last Saturday. Pruitt and Tyson Helton went through multiple guys, but Riley Locklear, Chance Hall, Jerome Carvin and Jahmir Johnson have all been bad there. That unit is at the bottom of the barrel with this team right now. It has got to get better quickly.

Stability at quarterback

Jeremy Pruitt said Jarrett Guarantano is fine. But he also noted that Guarantano made a lot of errors in Saturday’s game. On top of that, Keller Chryst played very well. As a result, there’s no way around it. He and Tyson Helton have to make a tough decision at that position to finish out the season. And it will alienate some of the fans no matter what.

Look, overall, both quarterbacks are fine. Guarantano can still make plays, and Chryst is deadly accurate. Because of the future, they want to go with Guarantano. But they need a good season this year to make an impact, and Chryst may give them a better chance to do that down the stretch.