The Veterans
Kyle Trask (Sr.), Florida
Trask may be the best quarterback returning in the SEC. After having played the backup role since his freshman year at Manvel High School in Texas, he made the most of his opportunities as Florida’s starter in 2019.
After stepping in for the injured Feleipe Franks in the Gators’ contest against Kentucky last season, Trask led Florida from a 21-10 fourth quarter deficit to a 29-21 win. From there, Florida won 11 games, including their second-straight New Year’s Six Bowl.
Perhaps Trask’s best performance came in a loss against eventual national champion LSU, where he threw for 310 yards and three touchdowns in a 42-28 road loss.
While Trask proved himself as a worthy starting quarterback for the Gators, there are still question marks surrounding the signal caller. Florida’s offense was lethargic against Georgia in a game that would have sent them to the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta, and Trask made mistakes –particularly in opposing territory — that cost the Gators scoring opportunities.
Despite the sloppiness against Georgia and some missed scoring opportunities, Trask has proven himself in big games, including wins against Auburn, Florida State, and Kentucky — something that separates him from the other returning quarterbacks in the SEC. One would think a third season under Dan Mullen’s tutelage can only help.
Jarrett Gurantano (Sr.), Tennessee
Of all the returning SEC quarterbacks, none may be more embattled than Jarrett Guarantano.
With 25 starts in three seasons to his name, there isn’t a quarterback on the Vols’ current roster that comes close to Guarantano’s experience, and the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled spring practice, it may be unlikely that highly-touted freshman and former five-star quarterback Harrison Bailey will be able to challenge him for the starting role early in the season.
For Guarantano, the quarterback competition will come from sophomore Brian Maurer, who started four games a season ago and played in eight, as well as redshirt sophomore J.T. Shrout and Maryland transfer Kasim Hill.
Despite the experience, Guarantano has more to prove than any quarterback Tennessee has. Since arriving in Knoxville in 2016, Guarantano has played under four different offensive coordinators. The 2020 season will mark his first playing under the same coordinator (Jim Chaney) for consecutive seasons. After an abysmal start to the 2019 season — which included losses to Georgia State and BYU — Guarantano was replaced by Maurer, but because of injuries to Maurer, Guarantano was again thrust into an important role and helped lead comeback winsagainst South Carolina and at Kentucky. He also threw for over 400 yards in Tennessee’s road victory over Missouri.
But Guarantano’s faults showed again for more than three quarters against Indiana in the Gator Bowl, but Tennessee pulled it out late to reach eight wins on the season.
After throwing just three interceptions in 2018, Guarantano threw eight last season despite throwing a career-high 16 touchdowns and 2,158 yards. If that trend continues, there will be more than rumblings to start Muarer or Hill or just to go ahead and toss Bailey into the fire.
