Jim Chaney Gives Updates On His QB's During Knoxville QB Club Meeting
Jarrett Guarantano will be the starting quarterback for Tennessee's 7:30 ET match-up against South Carolina on Saturday night, however, the rotation behind him is still unclear, according to Jim Chaney and Jeremy Pruitt.
Chaney met with the Knoxville Quarterback club on Monday during a Zoom call, and he had plenty to say about the position.
Chaney opened by jokingly saying, "at the quarterback spot, I know y'all don't want to talk much about it, so I'll open it up for any questions."
He continued, "No, I'll be honest with you guys, I like what they're doing. Jarrett has had a solid camp for us, has done a nice job. He understands what we're doing, he understands what we're trying to do, and he's excited about playing."
Chaney would go on to add about the three players behind Guarantano currently: J.T. (Shrout) and Brian Maurer, they're battling still in that spot for who is going to be the backup player right now. Even JG, sometimes JG ain't hot, we don't have any problem, and you understand that, and you've watched us, heck, we’ll put someone else in there to try to spur the offense. It doesn't matter. All three of those kids are capable of playing winning football. We've got to make sure we put them in position to be successful. So those guys are doing that.
They asked DA the question about how COVID hurt anybody. I would argue with Harrison Bailey-- really like a lot of the things he does, but not having the big practices and the split fields and getting a lot of the reps, I think it's probably harmed the quarterback position throughout college football more than any other spot. I think that's probably it, and he's battling, doing a good job. Really like Harrison. He's going to be a solid player for us.”
Guarantano was part of the rotating door at quarterback last fall, and much like Chaney said, he was pulled from the game multiple times. Chaney offered some insight on helping him make quicker decisions.
Chaney said: if you can be disciplined at quarterback, and see what you need to see when the ball is snapped, and then the knowledge takes over from that point on. I think JG has done a good job. JG is a real professional when it comes to work. He'll come in, work a lot of hours, and he'll put the time in that it takes. The discipline when you're behind the center and after you said hut, and seeing what you need to see, is what quarterbacks have always struggled with. What coverage are you seeing? Do you have the discipline to have your eyes where the play starts. There's always a start and a progression on every play, and they get in trouble when they forget where the thing starts at. I think you're seeing a lot more consistency with JG as far as the consistency of starting the play correctly, and after that he has the knowledge. It's just making sure we start everything correctly. So, I think just his discipline with his eyes is where you're going to see a little bit of quicker decisions out of him.”
J.T. Shrout has received high praise all off-season, and he seems poised to be second on Tennessee's depth chart this fall. Chaney shared thoughts on his improvement as well. He said, "He's seeing the field better than he did last year. I really believe that. He has more command of the offense. I think he's playing with a lot more confidence, and confidence is everything."
Chaney went on to say, "I feel like J.T. has got a good swag about him. He's got a confidence about him. There are certain things I like J.T. when he’s out there playing that I’ll call for him, because I think he can do it real good. I think that's kind of where it is. I think his development is just familiarity. I'll say it over and over again--it's familiarity, familiarity, familiarity. He understands what a play is, and I don’t make light of that. They really do. Now they learning the nuances of it.”
Chaney will get his first test of the season against South Carolina, a game that Tennessee scored its second most points in (41) last season. The Vols will need to get out to a fast start, if they hope to beat Will Muschamp's team in Columbia.
Photo Credit: Tennessee Athletics Communications
