Tennessee football takes the field Saturday for its annual Orange and White game at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville. Here is our preview for the Volunteers.
It’s football time in Tennessee. Well kind of. This is not the opening game of Jeremy Pruitt’s second season. But, it is the 2019 Orange and White Game and Volnation is READY. They can get their first glimpse of Tennessee football.
After an up and down year one of Jeremy Pruitt, year two is looking more promising. Even some of the national media are taking notice by predicting a nine win season. Nine wins in year two! What?
Before we breakdown the game and both rosters here is all the information you need for the game.
Tennessee Volunteers (Orange) vs. Tennessee Volunteers (White)
When: Saturday, April 13; 6:00pm
Where: Neyland Stadium; Knoxville, Tennessee
TV: SEC Network
Live Stream: WatchESPN
View of the Vols (White Team)
Tennessee football’s White Team is the first team offense and the second team defense. No surprise here but quarterback Jarrett Guarantano leads the way for the White team. He is the first-team quarterback and has some familiar faces to throw to. Josh Palmer, Marquez Calloway and Jauan Jennings all make the first-team.
Guarantano completed 62.2 percent of his passes last season for an average of 7.8 yards per attempt. He also had a 12:3 touchdown-to-interception ratio which is quite impressive. The offense wasn’t build to score a lot of points so Guarantano protecting the ball was important to stay afloat.
Ty Chandler and Tim Jordan are listed as first-time running backs which again is no surprise. Despite fighting injuries, Chandler led the Vols with 630 yards rushing on 115 attempts. Maybe more impressive was his ability to be a receiving threat out of the backfield. Chandler finished the season with 19 receptions for 183 yards and three touchdowns.
View of the Vols (Orange Team)
The Orange Team is Tennessee football’s first team defense and their second team offense. Emmit Gooden leads the way on defense. Gooden came on strong at the end of the season and finished with 7.5 tackles for loss. Yes, it’s just the Spring Game but pay attention to Gooden’s explosion on the snap.
Other notable names on the first-team defense are Nigel Warrior, Bryce Thompson, and Alontae Taylor. As freshmen, Thompson and Taylor showed out. Thompson, Freshman All-American, accounted for three interceptions and 23 solo tackles in his first year on Rocky Top.
There are some new faces to keep an eye on but fans have to be pleased with a lot of returning talent. Yes, it is just the Spring Game but fans should get a good look at the 2019 Vols that could make some noise those season.