Tennessee football: Five Vols to watch for at Florida Gators

It’s no secret that Jarrett Guarantano is getting a lot of blame for Tennessee football losing to the BYU Cougars, and he even got some blame for their season-opening loss to the Georgia State Panthers despite throwing for over 300 yards. Last week didn’t do anything to alleviate concerns fans have about the 6’4″ 213-pound redshirt junior.

Sure, he went seven-of-eight for 142 yards and had three touchdowns to no interceptions against the Chattanooga Mocs. But one of those touchdowns was thrown far too late, and it would have been intercepted if he were playing any FBS school. His only incompletion, the first pass of the day, was also one that should have been intercepted.

As a result, there are still concerns about his decision-making. When he makes the right decision, he makes them slowly off slow-developing plays. That’s a dangerous combo against a pass rush like Florida’s. But UT is going to have to rely on him to deliver in their passing game since Florida opponents are averaging fewer than three yards a carry.

Simply put, this is a major task for Guarantano. Performing well in this game would forgive all past struggles, but what he has shown early on hints that this game will put him in a position to fail miserably. So with little faith in him, we say the Vols need Guarantano to step up.