Tennessee football 2019 recap: Top 10 Vols players of the season

In Tennessee football’s wins alone, Jarrett Guarantano was the most valuable player of the year. However, in all but one of their losses, he shouldered the most blame. As a result, he’s down at No. 9 on this list instead of somewhere higher. Still, he belonged on here with his dramatic turnaround that happened after the start of the season.

Guarantano did throw for over 300 yards in a loss to the Georgia State Panthers, but he had two turnovers. He then threw an interception, the only turnover, in the loss to the BYU Cougars, and he threw two interceptions in the loss to the Florida Gators before being benched. After coming back in, he had that infamous fumble against the Alabama Crimson Tide.

At that point, Guarantano seemed left for dead while the Vols were 2-5. But against the South Carolina Gamecocks, he engineered a 24-21 lead before getting knocked out of the game. Then he led two comebacks at the Kentucky Wildcats and Missouri Tigers, the latter of which he threw for over 400 yards in.

Finally, after being benched, he came back in and led a comeback win over the Indiana Hoosiers in the Gator Bowl, winning 23-22 after being down 22-9. Guarantano finished the year completeing 59 percent of his passes for 2,158 yards, 16 touchdowns and eight interceptions. But more important than his stats were his turnaround. He was key to at least three wins, and that matters.