Tennessee football: Five reasons Vols should stick with Jarrett Guarantano

Jarrett Guarantano has gotten lots of heat for his QB play with Tennessee football. But the Volunteers need to stick with him at quarterback for now.

It’s time somebody gave some love to the redshirt junior beyond Jeremy Pruitt. Say what you want about Jarrett Guarantano after the way he struggled last week against the BYU Cougars. But don’t call for Tennessee football to replace him at quarterback just yet.

The Vols have ridden with Guarantano for a year and a half so far, and Pruitt willingly tied his future to the Jersey kid. Is his development where fans expected it to be? Of course not. But is it too early to pull the trigger? Yes it is.

Tennessee football has no proven backups yet, as nobody behind Guarantano has played a snap of college football. It’s also worth noting that Guarantano is playing for his fourth offensive coordinator in his second offensive system in his time on Rocky Top.

Taking that all into account, he deserves a bit more love. Now, that is not to say he wasn’t awful last week. And it’s not to say that maybe he shouldn’t be replaced in the future. But we can’t say for sure that Pruitt shouldn’t be fired in the future. That’s no reason to do it right now.

One bad game, or two if you inexplicably want to blame him for the Georgia State Panthers loss, is nowhere near enough of a reason to yank him. A body of work over a period of time matters a heck of a lot more.

In this post, we’re going to look at why the Vols should keep him in a vacuum. There are plenty of things working in his favor, and Pruitt rightfully publicly endorsed Guarantano this week. There’s no reason not to at this point.

Yes, this team is 0-2, but Guarantano could end up being the reason they get out of the hole that, admittedly, he helped dig. So give him that chance. Here are the five reasons Tennessee football should stick with Guarantano as its starting quarterback.