What Jeremy Pruitt Said On Tennessee's QB Position During Monday's Press Conference

Tennessee is set to kickoff against the season against South Carolina on Saturday in a night game on the SEC Network at 7:30 ET. Jeremy Pruitt was available to the media today, and he fielded plenty of questions, including multiple on his quarterback situation.

Pruitt was first asked about the battle for the No. 2 spot. He said, "It is still open-ended heading into the weekend. We will make a decision over the weekend and see who gives us the best opportunity. With Harrison (Bailey) and Brian (Maurer), both of those guys have missed practices for different reasons during fall camp. J.T. (Shrout) has obviously had the opportunity to take more reps, but we are giving both of those guys a chance."

The three mentioned above are all chasing Jarrett Guarantano on the depth-chart, and Pruitt weighed in on his fifth-year quarterback, as he enters his second season under Jim Chaney.

"As the second go-around with an offensive coordinator for Jarrett, this will be the first time. When you do the same thing over and over, it creates confidence, so I would suspect that he's got to have a lot more confidence heading into this season, as opposed to the previous season because the terminology is the same and the people around him are the same. I feel like he's demonstrated that at practice," Pruitt told reporters on the Zoom Call.

2019 saw the Vols have a revolving door at the quarterback position, and COVID-19 could see the Vols have to play multiple players at the position.

Pruitt said on the importance of having a player ready at the spot at all times, "That's a position that the ball goes through their hands every snap. Being able to have a No. 2 and No. 3 is absolutely, always important. I don't think this season would be any different. We've got to continue to grow and develop those guys behind Jarrett."

While Guarantano is set to get the first snaps of the season, Pruitt has shown that he will pull his quarterback for another with no hesitation. Last season, Guarantano went 11 for 19 for 229 yards and 2 touchdowns against the Gamecocks before exiting with a wrist injury.