There’s not a lot of love for the Tennessee football Volunteers quarterback here.
Despite leading Tennessee football to six straight wins to close out last season, Jarrett Guarantano clearly still has to prove himself. He somehow is still needing to do that as a three-year starter entering his redshirt senior season.
Athlon Sports ranked Guarantano No. 11 of the 14 quarterbacks projected to start the season in the SEC. He was only ahead of the Vanderbilt Commodores’ Ken Seals, the Missouri Tigers’ Shawn Robinson and the South Carolina Gamecocks’ Ryan Hilinski.
Apparently, averaging over and averaging over eight yards an attempt while completing over 60 percent of his passes for 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions over the past two years hasn’t been enough for Guarantano. Here’s what was written about the Tennessee football quarterback.
"Guarantano had an uneven 2019 season but finished on a high note. He torched Missouri for 415 yards on Nov. 23 and later led the Volunteers to a comeback win over Indiana in the Gator Bowl (221 passing yards). Guarantano finished 2019 with 2,158 yards and 16 touchdowns to eight picks. Outside of the opener against Georgia State (311) and the performance against Missouri, the New Jersey native did not eclipse more than 230 passing yards in any other game. While his total passing yards ranked ninth in the SEC, Guarantano finished third in quarterback rating (143.99) and second in yards per attempt (8.4)."
Given those final stats, it’s crazy to have Terry Wilson of the Kentucky Wildcats ahead of him. Other guys are questionable, but Guarantano should have at least made it into the top 10 heading into this year.
Yes, Guarantano was incredibly inconsistent. There’s a reason he lost his starting job for half the season, but he was on the field for the permanent go-ahead score in all of UT’s wins. As a result, he’s proven his talents.
With a second year in Jim Chaney’s system, there’s reason to believe Guarantano will be more consistent. Accuracy is a concern, but his arm strength and ability to stand in the pocket and take hits are unquestionable. Add in a developed offensive line to create a better running game, and he has a lot of things going for him.
The only major question surrounding Guarantano, outside of his consistency and accuracy, is the development of receivers around him. Losing Jauan Jennings, Marquez Callaway, Dominick Wood-Anderson and even Tyler Byrd leave lots of openings.
However, this is Guarantano’s first year returning with the same offensive coordinator he had the previous year since he joined Tennessee football in 2016. There are also some weapons who have shown their talents, particularly Josh Pamer, at wideout. As a result, there’s reason to believe he’ll be much better. But this ranking shows he has to prove it.