Report: Tennessee to Start Freshman QB Harrison Bailey vs. Florida Gators
The Tennessee Volunteers have made a switch at quarterback as true freshman Harrison Bailey will make his first career start against the Florida Gators today at 3:30 P.M. on CBS, according to a report from Matt Zenitz of AL.com.
Bailey replaces fifth-year senior Jarrett Guarantano, who has spent time in quarantine recently while Tennessee has dealt with a COVID-19 outbreak, per report. Guarantano is expected to be available to play today, however, it will be Bailey who starts in his place.
Bailey, 6-foot-5, 225 pounds, has seen action in three games during his true freshman season, completing 14-of-23 (60.9%) of his passes for 175 yards and two interceptions and adding five rushing attempts for another 22 yards. Bailey was a consensus top 100 prospect in the class of 2020, considered the No. 3 pro-style quarterback in the nation out of Marietta (Ga.) by the 247Sports Composite rankings.
On Wednesday, Vols head coach Jeremy Pruitt shared that Bailey would "definitely play" against Florida, however it had yet to be determined if he would start at that time.
While this would sound like an appealing matchup for the Gators, it might also provide some pause. Guarantano has regressed in his final year at Tennessee while posting these career numbers against the Gators: 17-of-35 (48.6%), 270 yards, and four interceptions.
Meanwhile, Florida has played far from a perfect defense this year, allowing less-than-stellar offenses to move at will at times, including Vanderbilt who was starting a true freshman quarterback in Ken Seals two weeks ago. Seals went 22-of-34 passing for 319 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception against the Gators in Nashville while the winless Commodores held a lead over the Gators from their first drive until about four minutes halftime.
So, we'll see if the Gators have adjusted their pass defense accordingly as Seals was able to find some success. The same couldn't be said for the Kentucky Wildcats last week as UK committed to the ground game and was forced to pass with a deficit in the second half, to no avail.
