Tennessee football: 5 key position battles for Vols 2019 spring practice

5. Jarrett Guarantano

Right out of the gate, we’re getting controversial. But with a new offensive coordinator in Jim Chaney and Jarrett Guarantano starting every game last year en route to a 5-7 record, any decent coach will allow for competition at the starting quarterback position this spring.

That’s what good coaches do, and Jeremy Pruitt can’t allow for Guarantano to be completely comfortable in his role. Again, Guarantano went 5-7 last year. He struggled with the deep ball in close games late. Sure, he was efficient, and he is good at standing in the pocket. We can also forgive him for the hits he took last year.

But nothing changes his record and the fact that he anchored one of the worst offenses in the nation last year. Does none of that fall on him? Of course it does. What’s more is that Tennessee football will have all of its scholarship quarterbacks for 2019 practicing in the spring.

JT Shrout, the big arm quarterback from California who redshirted last year, is now by default up to No. 2 on the roster with Keller Chryst gone. Then you’ve got Brian Maurer, a three-star pro-style quarterback out of Florida who is an early enrollee, coming in to compete.

All three quarterbacks should get equal looks, and Chaney and Pruitt have no reason not to look seriously at each of them. They all deserve a fair chance to start, so while Guarantano should be the favorite, the reasonable analysis of his position is that he’ll still have to earn his starting job once again. After all, Chryst and Will McBride are gone.