Tennessee football: Key moments and turning points in Vols 2019 spring game
Tennessee football’s spring game was a 28-10 win for the Volunteers in White. Here are the key moments and turning points from the Orange and White game.
Even with the spring game being a 28-10 score and the first-team offense winning, Tennessee football saw a defensive struggle throughout much of the game. The Vols on both sides relied on big plays to make this score what it was.
Early on, Derrick Ansley was winning the battle over Jim Chaney. But things got going late in the first quarter. Ansley’s defense still made some huge plays as well to help open up the score. In the end, it was the White pulling away with a 28-10 victory.
There are still some concerns surrounding the Vols, particularly the questions in the trenches. But there is also a multitude of reasons for why the game turned out the way it did. Here are the key moments and turning points that resulted in the White’s win.
5. Jarrett Guarantano hits Marquez Callaway for first red zone trip.
Things were looking rough early. The game was scoreless, and Jim Chaney turned on the no-huddle offense, which allowed Brian Maurer to drive into the red zone and set up a field goal to give the Orange a 3-0 lead. All of a sudden, questions about Guarantano were arising. He then turned it on the very next drive with multiple completions. The most notable one was a deep pass to Marquez Callaway, who caught it and stumbled into the end zone. However, he was down inside the 5 by college rule. Guarantano followed that with a touchdown pass to Dominick Wood-Anderson to get the offense going, but Callaway set everything up with that catch.
4. Jaylen McCullough intercepts slant pass from Brian Maurer.
After Guarantano gave the White a 7-3 lead, Tennessee football’s second team took the field again, and Brian Maurer had a chance to show more of what he had as a newcomer. But another newcomer, Jaylen McCullough stepped up in the secondary. He intercepted a pass from Maurer over the middle on the next drive to help open things up for the White.
3. Jauan Jennings catches touchdown pass on fade from Guarantano.
Right after McCullough’s interception, the White had a chance to put the Orange on its heels. Jarrett Guarantano did just that by throwing a fade pass to Jauan Jennings. No. 15 showed he truly is back and healthy, winning the one-on-one battle for the touchdown. That was the play to put the White in control for Tennessee football.
2. Josh Palmer catches touchdown pass to end first half.
The Vols have a history of end-of-half scores after what happened last year against the Kentucky Wildcats, and they did it again in the spring game. With the clock winding down, it was third and goal from inside the three-yard-line, and Jeremy Pruitt and Jim Chaney went for a quick touchdown. Guarantano was supposed to hit Palmer over the middle, and if it was incomplete, they’d have a chance for a field goal. Instead, though, Palmer began bobbling the catch, and that caused the clock to run out. But it didn’t matter because he came down with the ball, allowing the White to go into halftime up 21-3. They were in complete control by that point.
1. McCullough picks up second interception.
It was a huge day for Jaylen McCullough. The freshman was the breakout star for Tennessee football, and he kept the White in control in the second half. The Orange was trying to get back in it, but he intercepted a deep ball down the sideline. On that drive, Guarantano hit Jennings on fourth down for a touchdown to give the White a 28-3 lead. It was the second Guarantano-to-Jennings touchdown set up by a McCullough interception, and in the process, it put the White in complete control.