All for Tennessee
Fansided

Tennessee football: Vols stock report following Week Four of 2019

By Caleb Calhoun

GAINESVILLE, FL- SEPTEMBER 21: Malik Davis #20 of the Florida Gators runs with the ball during the first half of the game in front of Henry To'o To'o #11 of the Tennessee Volunteers at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on September 21, 2019 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
GAINESVILLE, FL- SEPTEMBER 21: Malik Davis #20 of the Florida Gators runs with the ball during the first half of the game in front of Henry To'o To'o #11 of the Tennessee Volunteers at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on September 21, 2019 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 5
Next
Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images
Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images /

Stock down

Jarrett Guarantano

He was already trending downward, but Jarrett Guarantano hit bottom in Tennessee football’s loss Saturday at the Florida Gators. Jeremy Pruitt pulled him at halftime for ineffective play, the first time that has been the reason for him being pulled since he became the Vols’ starting quarterback dating back to when Butch Jones was head coach of the program in 2017.

But Guarantano missed some easy throws Saturday. He had Dominick Wood-Anderson wide open for a touchdown and missed him. After that, he threw his second interception of the day. To be fair, the first pick was not his fault. And he did return later in the game after being benched. Still, he has some major issues right now at quarterback and has not been effective. It’s a huge problem.

Trenches

If Guarantano is not throwing the ball well, the offensive and defensive lines are playing poorly. On Saturday, the offensive line could not run block against the Florida Gators, and they did the one thing the Vols couldn’t afford to do, which was commit penalties. K’Rojhn Calbert killed one drive with a bad late hit, for instance. Also, numerous passes by Guarantano were batted down.

Meanwhile, the defensive line was horrendous. It is still unable to generate any pressure without a blitz, and Jeremy Pruitt and Derrick Ansley are clearly feeling the losses of Kyle Phillips, Shy Tuttle and Alexis Johnson. Things have got to improve for this unit going forward if the defense is going to be able to do anything. The Vols were neutralized because of this group’s limitations Saturday.

Home/Vols Football