Tennessee Vols: Why Jeremy Pruitt's support of Jarrett Guarantano is the right approach
It's unclear who will start for the Tennessee Vols at quarterback this weekend against South Carolina, but there's a good chance it will be Jarrett Guarantano (if Brian Maurer is unable to play due to the head injury he sustained against Alabama). That means there's also a good chance there will be audible boos from […]
It's unclear who will start for the Tennessee Vols at quarterback this weekend against South Carolina, but there's a good chance it will be Jarrett Guarantano (if Brian Maurer is unable to play due to the head injury he sustained against Alabama).
That means there's also a good chance there will be audible boos from the crowd at Neyland.
Guarantano drew the ire of Vols head coach Jeremy Pruitt, and fans, in the fourth quarter of UT's loss to Alabama this past weekend after he went rogue and tried a quarterback sneak on the goal line — instead of the play that offensive coordinator Jim Chaney called.
Pruitt benched Guarantano after the bad decision and put redshirt freshman JT Shrout into the game.
Considering Guarantano's inconsistent play this year, it would be easy to assume that Pruitt is ready to move on from the redshirt junior quarterback (there's almost no way that Guarantano will return to Tennessee in 2020).
But that doesn't appear to be the case at all. In fact, Pruitt reaffirmed this week that he still believes in Guarantano.
Pruitt: "Jarrett is a guy, I’ve said many times before, that I believe in. I think he has what it takes, but I do think that he needs to be more consistent with the right intangibles so that he can play at a little higher level. He knows that, we talked yesterday. You look at that game, there were three of four times during the game where if you talk about standing in the pocket and making throws, he did a really nice job."
It might be surprising to hear those words from Pruitt after the way the Alabama game ended, but I think it's absolutely the right approach from Tennessee's second year head coach.
If Maurer is unable to play on Saturday (and that seems very likely at this point), then it would leave Guarantano and Shrout as the Vols' two quarterback options.
The game against South Carolina is winnable for Tennessee. But only if the right decisions are made.
Expecting Shrout to win his first career start against a conference opponent (who is two weeks removed from upsetting Georgia) doesn't seem like a wise idea.
Guarantano, while inconsistent, is the most experienced quarterback on the Vols' roster. He led the team to a win against Auburn last season. And he helped close out the win against Mississippi State a couple of weeks ago. He is absolutely a better option against South Carolina than Shrout (at least for now).
The Vols' quarterback depth is already going to be thin if Maurer can't go. It's important that Tennessee has two quarterbacks who are ready to go against the Gamecocks. Even if Pruitt decided to start Shrout (which I don't think happens), there's a still a reasonable chance that Guarantano would be needed at some point on Saturday.
If Tennessee hopes to beat South Carolina, then they'll need their quarterbacks to play with confidence. A public show of support is the best thing Pruitt can do for Guarantano's confidence right now.
The Vols are going to need Guarantano on Saturday and at other key points during the rest of the season. He might not be playing at a high level right now, but he's still an important part of Tennessee's football team.
Pruitt recognizes that, which is why he's making the right move to support Guarantano in front of reporters.
Featured image via Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
