Tennessee football: 10 safest starting spots on Vols 2019 roster

Many people may say Jarrett Guarantano belongs much higher on this list. And yes, it makes sense to have him No. 1 given the state of the roster. Tennessee football, after all, has no quarterback outside of Guarantano who has even played a snap in college.

All the offseason stats make Guarantano look even better. Despite limited production, his SEC-leading completion percentage under pressure, four-to-one touchdown-to-interception ratio, and nearly eight yards per attempt despite being under more pressure than anybody else in the conference are all reasons for him to start. In fact, they are all why he’s on the list.

But Guarantano is still 6-12 as a starter. He averaged just under 160 passing yards per game. And he quarterbacked an offense that was outside of the top 100. No matter how much you want to blame the offensive line and play-calling, those numbers are inexcusable. As a result, Guarantano is not No. 1 on this list.

There are enough reasons to give an outside chance to JT Shrout, or even Brian Maurer, to maybe take away his job. Now, it’s not likely. Let’s be clear and say Guarantano is still on the list, and his job is mostly safe. But this all explains why he’s not in the top five on our list.