Hometown: Marietta, Ga.
When it comes to certain factors for Tennessee football true freshmen, Harrison Bailey has two of them. He’s the most talented recruit in the Vols’ 2020 class based on him being the only five-star and the coaches touting that he is already shining in practice. Then he has the proper size. Finally, despite its minimal impact, he was an early enrollee.
Then there’s the position he’s going to. That’s a bit of a question. Technically, there’s a firmly entrenched starter in Jarrett Guarantano. In fact, Guarantano would be entrenched enough to leave Bailey off this list. However, Guarantano did not start six games last year, and he was yanked in the middle of two. Meanwhile, Brian Maurer and J.T. Shrout were mediocre and often inefficient.
As a result, the true freshman out of Marietta High School in Georgia has somewhat of a chance to shock the world and win the starting job. If he doesn’t win it, he could be the guy Jeremy Pruitt and Jim Chaney turn to should something happen to Guarantano. All of this is why we put him on our list of true freshmen most likely to make an impact.
Chris Weinke has touted Guarantano’s development this offseason, and it’s likely to keep him as the starter entering the season. There’s plenty of reason to believe in Guarantano as well. But the uncertainty combined with Bailey’s talent and experience will give him an chance. Watch out for what he does.