Tennessee football: 10 safest starting spots on 2020 roster

Quarterback

Yes, Jarrett Guarantano was pulled or just didn’t start in eight of 13 games last year, and yes, a five-star freshman in Harrison Bailey has arrived with all the hype. That would seem to make for an epic quarterback battle that everybody will want to pay attention to throughout fall camp. Brian Maurer and J.T. Shrout, both of whom started games last year, are still on the roster as well.

However, Guarantano started seven games last year, finished nine of them and was on the field when Tennessee football took the lead for good in all eight games. Simply put, if we judged him by a pitcher’s standards, he would get the credit for every win, meaning he was by far the most important quarterback and stands out over everybody else.

Taking that into account, the 6’4″ 230-pound fifth-year senior out of Bergen Catholic High School in New Jersey is certain to be the starter at least in the Vols’ opener at the South Carolina Gamecocks. He has started the first game each of the past two seasons and has started at least half of each of the past three seasons.

Don’t forget that despite Guarantano’s issues, he still is completing over 60 percent of his passes while averaging over eight yards an attempt with 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions the past couple years. He’ll definitely start over Maurer and Shrout, and he won’t lose the job to Bailey yet.