Okay, so this is a bit obvious. But what would you expect? Jarrett Guarantano put up efficient numbers last year, but he still could quarterbacked one of the worst offenses in the nation. Even if he did have a bad offensive line, you couldn’t ignore that.
Well, he’s now playing for his fourth offensive coordinator in his fourth year on Rocky Top. But the fourth-year junior has been working on improving for Tennessee football ever since he became the starter midway through the 2017 season. The coaches have shown tons of confidence in him, and Jim Chaney’s system may be the best fit he’s had.
Still, we won’t know until the fall. Chaney loves to use quarterbacks with big arms to throw it up to big receivers and have the awareness to utilize their tight ends when it comes to the passing game. Guarantano’s arm came and went last year, and he clearly didn’t throw to the tight ends enough. Whether or not that was his decision or Tyson Helton’s is up for debate.
What is clear, though, is all of these things are going to be worth paying attention to when he takes the field Saturday. He even has a new quarterbacks coach in Chris Weinke, so his play will be doubly worth looking into.