Tennessee Vols: Why Jeremy Pruitt's quarterback logic might be flawed
Tennessee Vols head coach Jeremy Pruitt officially announced on Wednesday that true freshman quarterback Brian Maurer will start against Mississippi State on Saturday. But that doesn't mean Maurer, who made his first career start last weekend against Georgia, will have a long leash. If Maurer struggles, it's extremely likely that Jarrett Guarantano, who started the […]
Tennessee Vols head coach Jeremy Pruitt officially announced on Wednesday that true freshman quarterback Brian Maurer will start against Mississippi State on Saturday.
But that doesn't mean Maurer, who made his first career start last weekend against Georgia, will have a long leash.
If Maurer struggles, it's extremely likely that Jarrett Guarantano, who started the first four games of the season, will get into the game.
Pruitt said on Vol Calls this week that Tennessee will have a plan to play Guarantano on Saturday, just as they had a plan to play him against Georgia.
Guarantano played against Georgia, but it was only because Maurer was briefly forced from the game due to injury. Pruitt said that Maurer played "really well" against the Bulldogs so they held off on the plan to get Guarantano into the game.
So that basically means that if Maurer falters against Mississippi State, Guarantano will enter the game.
Essentially, if there are any hiccups for Maurer, he's heading to the bench.
I'm not sure this is the best approach by Pruitt. Yanking Maurer after one mistake could completely kill the young quarterback's confidence. Obviously, if Maurer struggles mightily, then Pruitt would have to take him out of the game. But taking him out simply to get Guarantano into the game would be a mistake.
If Pruitt is going to move forward with Maurer as the starting quarterback, then he at least needs to give him the same chance he gave Guarantano.
Maurer is going to make some mistakes. But he's going to learn from those mistakes. It's going to be extremely hard for him to learn, though, if Pruitt puts him on a short leash.
I think Pruitt will probably let the flow of the game dictate his quarterback decisions. But if he's locked in on getting Guarantano into the game, it could be disastrous for Tennessee moving forward.
Featured image via Randy Sartin/USA Today
