Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt has said time and time again that he admires redshirt sophomore quarterback Jarrett Guarantano’s toughness. He said that again on Wednesday, and he also said that the Vols’ starting quarterback will be good to go this Saturday.
Guarantano took a tough shot to his leg in the second half of Tennessee’s 47-21 loss to Florida this past Saturday, and he exited the game and never returned afterwards. But according to Pruitt, Guarantano is okay and has been at practice every day this week so far.
“He has been out there every day,” Pruitt said after Wednesday’s practice. “Jarrett’s a tough guy, so that’s not surprising to me. He’ll be ready to go.”
Tennessee will travel to Athens, Georgia to take on the No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs this weekend. Guarantano has started all four games at quarterback this season so far for the Vols, and he’ll be the starter for Tennessee this weekend as they make their first road trip of the season. Guarantano came off the bench in relief of Quinten Dormady last season when the Vols hosted Georgia, and he completed six of his seven pass attempts for only 16 yards in the Vols’ 41-0 loss to the Bulldogs.
Saturday’s contest will mark only the third true road start Guarantano has made in his Tennessee career. His second and third career starts came on the road last season when the Vols traveled to Alabama and Kentucky in consecutive weeks.
On the season, Guarantano is completing 46 of his 72 pass attempts for 658 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions in four games. The redshirt sophomore is just 3-7 as a starter for the Vols, and he’s still looking for his first win against an SEC opponent. The Vols as a team have lost a program record 10 consecutive conference games dating back to their loss to Vanderbilt to end the 2016 season.
Tennessee will take on Georgia at 3:30 Eastern on CBS on Saturday, September 29th. The Bulldogs are currently 31.5-point favorites over the Vols.
