Quarterback
Nathanael: C
It’s weird giving a QB a “C” grade when he throws for two touchdowns, no interceptions, and completes almost 70 percent of his passes. But that’s what I’m doing. Jarrett Guarantano looked…average. He made some good plays and found ways to get the ball to his receivers despite facing a lot of pressure a lot of the time, but he was inaccurate on all of his deeper passes on Saturday and missed more throws in one game than he has almost all season prior. I don’t mind the strategy UT employed of using a lot of shorter passes to take advantage of South Carolina’s defense, because that was clearly working. But Guarantano struggled to connect time and time again with Josh Palmer, and he still doesn’t have great pocket awareness at times.
Ben: C+
Jarrett Guarantano wasn’t great against South Carolina, but he played well enough to win on the road against a division opponent. My biggest complaints for Guarantano were his three missed throws to an open Josh Palmer and the sack he took on the final offensive play. Tennessee’s offensive line should have been able to handle South Carolina’s three-man rush, but Guarantano has to get the ball out sooner. On a positive note, the redshirt sophomore was accurate for the most part with the football and he didn’t throw any interceptions. Guarantano wasn’t flashy, but he did enough to give Tennessee a chance to win.
