The Vols hosted a grad transfer quarterback this past weekend, and he came away impressed with what he saw and experienced while at Tennessee.
Keller Chryst is a grad transfer quarterback from Stanford, and he paid a visit to Tennessee this past weekend. He’s one of a couple transfer quarterbacks the Vols are currently pursuing, but he has the edge in Power Five experience by far. Chryst was a part-time starter for Stanford the last two seasons.
And Tennessee’s coaching staff made an impression on the experienced QB.
“I learned that they are a no-nonsense type of program that knows what it takes to win games, as the coaching staff’s resume speaks for itself,” Chryst said in an interview with Tennessee’s Rivals.com affiliate site. “I really like the people involved in the program outside of the coaches as well.”
Chryst would to on to mention specifically that he met with Tennessee offensive coordinator Tyson Helton, and the two hit it off immediately.
“After only just meeting Coach Helton, it seems like he is truly a good guy first and foremost,” Chryst said. “He has produced a handful of really good QBs over the last few years.”
Helton and Chryst are familiar with each other thanks to their time in the Pac-12. Helton was on USC’s staff from 2016-17, and Chryst was with Stanford from 2014-17. The two got to see each other in action several times over the last couple years.
Chryst didn’t just meet with coaches while on campus, however. He also met some of Tennessee’s players, and he got along with them.
“I hung out with some of the guys, and I liked them and could tell they were hungry to win,” Chryst said of Tennessee’s players.
He would go on to say that “hopefully I can make a decision soon” and that it’s too early to rank all the schools pursuing him.
During his time at Stanford, Chryst appeared in 23 games and started 13 of them. He started the final six games of the 2016 season and was named the starter to begin the 2017 season. But an injury sidelined him, and Stanford’s coaches tabbed K.J. Costello to replace him. Chryst returned from injury, but the coaches kept Costello in and are sticking with him moving forward.
In his Stanford career, Chryst completed 55.4 percent of his 289 pass attempts for 1,926 yards, 19 touchdowns, and six interceptions. He also ran for 164 yards and three touchdowns on 66 carries.
Right now, the Vols have just two scholarship quarterbacks on their roster with a third joining them after the spring. Rising redshirt sophomore Jarrett Guarantano and rising sophomore Will McBride will be the only two scholarship quarterbacks on the roster when Tennessee begins spring practices in March. Freshman J.T. Shrout will join the roster after spring.
