Tennessee football: 5 takeaways from Vols first week of spring practice

4. Jarrett Guarantano seems to be improving.

We are basing this off things Jeremy Pruitt is saying and different observations. The Rocky Top Insider staff noted that Jarrett Guarantano was improving here, and they added in this post the positions new offensive coordinator Jim Chaney seemed to be focusing on. Quarterback wasn’t one of them, suggesting things are fine there.

And then there’s everything Pruitt said specifically about Guarantano after his third spring practice. Pruitt touted his leadership and maturity, noting that he has taken a lot of hits and that the game has slowed down.

Guarantano seemed relaxed himself, as he was touting the younger quarterbacks publicly. Other forms of things he did off the field to signal he was getting better was the fact that he worked out back in New Jersey this past winter early on with his personal quarterback coach to stay ahead of the curve. So he’s clearly been focused on holding onto his job and getting better.

As a result, it looks like Guarantano has maintained his position as the frontrunner to be Tennessee football’s starting quarterback for now, even with JT Shrout entering his redshirt freshman season and Brian Maurer on campus. He has earned that right as well. But remember, this is still very early.

For the last three years, Guarantano has done a pretty good job putting his work ethic on display. And he has shown some talent. But he still needs to show more before everybody can be fully sold on him as a quarterback.