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Tennessee football: 10 players most responsible for Vols 2019 turnaround

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 12: Jarrett Guarantano #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers reacts prior to the game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Neyland Stadium on October 12, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 12: Jarrett Guarantano #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers reacts prior to the game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Neyland Stadium on October 12, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images) /
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Key players have fueled Tennessee football’s turnaround in 2019. Here are the 10 Volunteers who are the most responsible for it.

Earlier in the year, there was plenty of blame to go around when Tennessee football was 0-2. That blame increased after they fell to 1-4 on the year, and there was a real possibility that the Vols would sink to 1-11.

After all, if the betting lines had held since that start, they would be 2-8 right now instead of 5-5, with their only win coming against the UAB Blazers. And had they not upset the Mississippi State Bulldogs and South Carolina Gamecocks, those games would be in question as well.

However, they pulled off upsets in three of their four wins during this turnaround, and their one loss, as we keep mentioning, was on the road to the Alabama Crimson Tide. They were also in that game until a critical mistake in the fourth quarter turned it from potentially 28-20 into 35-13.

Simply put, Tennessee football has looked significantly better ever since that win against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. They showed flashes against the Georgia Bulldogs, so as we do this post coming off their second bye, it’s evident that Jeremy Pruitt’s team has dramatically improved dating back to its first bye.

The Vols did not cover the spread at Georgia, though. In fact, the best way to measure their turnaround is how they did against the spread. Not counting the FCS game, they were 0-4 on lines to start the year, including Georgia. Since then, they are 5-0.

But who’s behind it? If we dished out blame for the 1-4 start, and we did, then we have to hand out credit for this turnaround. And that’s going to be the focus of our post here. Sure, Jeremy Pruitt deserves credit for what he’s done with his second team, but the players do as well.

Guys on this list may have made crucial mistakes at times, but they have all been reliable in numerous ways, and most of them have been consistent. Also, a few of them have been a part of this turn around by improving dramatically themselves.

So let’s go ahead and break down who we’re talking about. We’re ready to give out all the players and be fair after what happened at the start of the year. These are the 10 Vols behind Tennessee football’s turnaround for the 2019 season.

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