Breaking: Jarrett Guarantano announces transfer destination
#Pac12AfterDark just got a lot more interesting.
Former Tennessee quarterback Jarrett Guarantano entered the transfer portal shortly after the Vols’ last game of the season, a loss to Texas A&M on December 19th.
Now, Guarantano has announced his new home: Washington State.
The Lodi, New Jersey, native took to Twitter and Instagram on Friday to share the news.
The Cougars went just 1-3 this season, with several of their games canceled.
In Pullman, Guarantano will play for Nick Rolovich, who was hired by the Cougars in January after spending eight seasons at Hawai’i, four as head coach.
Guarantano’s Tennessee career was sporadic, to say the least, as his on-field efforts produced an off-field rollercoaster.
Still, the Vols’ coaching staff stood by him, even after a 2019 season that left many wondering whether Guarantano would come back in 2020.
“His actions spoke louder than his words," offensive coordinator Jim Chaney said in August. "His competitive toughness has never been questioned, his resolve to be starting quarterback at Tennessee. He’s a Tennessee Vol, and he wants to win football games.”
Like Chaney, Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt continued to stick by Guarantano through the majority of the Vols’ losses this season.
Whether that loyalty — combined with an ongoing investigation into Tennessee’s program — will cost Pruitt remains to be seen.
Regardless of how that unfolds, Guarantano will enter a new situation with the Cougars as a graduate transfer.
At Hawai’i, Rolovich — who is known for his work with quarterbacks — used a pistol-based variation of the run-and-shoot offense, with RPO installments for the quarterback.
Guarantano showed his wheels at times in Knoxville, so it should be intriguing to see how he fits into the Cougars’ new system.
He finished his Tennessee career with 32 starts in 41 games, 6,174 passing yards and 38 touchdowns, with six of those TD’s and four interceptions this season.
Guarantano will also head to Pullman with a 61.1 completion percentage at a 494-of-808 clip through his career on Rocky Top.
