Against Florida on Saturday, Tennessee saw a change at quarterback mid-game. While that change only lasted a few series, that switch and the overall play of starting quarterback Jarrett Guarantano through the first four weeks of the season has sparked a heated conversation surrounding Tennessee’s quarterback position moving forward.
Should Tennessee turn the offense over to one of the younger quarterbacks on the roster? Is it worth giving Guarantano another shot to right the ship, or should UT play a combination of Guarantano and the young QBs?
One thing is for certain: Jeremy Pruitt has changed how the Vols are practicing the quarterback position this week.
After Guarantano was benched for true freshman Brian Maurer to start the second half of Saturday’s contest against Florida, Vol fans have been clamoring for the benching of Tennessee’s redshirt junior quarterback to become a permanent fixture.
Before that can happen, Pruitt has to see enough from one of UT’s other quarterbacks in practice to warrant them earning the starting job. And the only way to do that is to alter how Tennessee practices at quarterback.
“I think we have to change the reps. We have to do that,” Pruitt said to the media on Wednesday. “There’s no secret, we have to get better production out of that position, just like we do for all of them. We gotta give these guys an opportunity, and this is a good chance to do that this week.
“Everybody gets the same amount of reps.”
Guarantano had been working mostly with the first-team offense and had been getting the bulk of the “starting” reps at quarterback as the Vols geared up for the season and as UT went through the first few weeks of the season. But now that Guarantano has struggled and no longer has a vice grip on the starting job, Pruitt and his coaches are going to give Maurer and redshirt freshman JT Shrout more opportunities to show what they can do in practice.
Maurer has only appeared in two games so far this season, and Shrout has played in just one. Both young quarterbacks took snaps against UT-Chattanooga in Week 3, and Maurer ran the offense for three or four series against the Gators down in Gainesville this past weekend.
Neither Maurer nor Shrout have been overly impressive in their limited action, but neither have been asked to lead the offense for more than a couple series at a time, either. In his one appearance, Shrout completed three of his nine passes for 23 yards and had an interception called back due to a roughing the passer penalty. In Maurer’s two games, he’s completed four of his 13 attempts for 44 yards and an interception. Maurer has also run for a touchdown and has 17 rushing yards on seven carries.
Guarantano has started all four games, but aside from a stellar performance against lowly UTC, he’s not been able to produce much. The redshirt junior has completed 64.5 percent of his 93 passes for 736 yards, seven touchdowns, and four interceptions.
It hasn’t all been bad for Guarantano this season, but for a fourth-year player and a third-year starter, he hasn’t been consistent enough to help Tennessee win.
“It’s just like every position. In every position on our team, there’s been times this year that we have played really good football, but we’re looking for consistency, and that’s with every position,” Pruitt said of the Vols’ quarterback position. “Every week, we play the guys that give us the best opportunity to give us success, and we’ll continue to do that. Jarrett has not been as good as he would like to be at certain times, but he’s also made some really good throws and some really good decisions. It’s no different from the defensive line, linebackers or secondary.
“Everybody in our program has to raise their level. We have to be more consistent and create the right habits so they show up on game day.”
The Vols have a bye week this week to create some more competition across the board, including at quarterback. But next weekend, Tennessee welcomes in No. 3 Georgia for a 7:00 PM kick-off. This week and next week’s practices will determine if the Vols will have a new starting quarterback take the field when the Bulldogs come to town.
