Sanning: Gator Bowl Comeback a Fitting End for Guarantano
Even when Jarrett Guarantano is bad, he can still get the job done.
He’s proven so down the stretch of this season countless times and that trend manifested itself once again on Thursday.
Tennessee’s stunning 23-22 win in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl in Jacksonville encapsulated Guarantano’s career with the Vols in four quarters.
He can reach the highest peaks, but the lowest valleys as well.
Guarantano completed 18-of-31 passes for 221 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions despite getting off to a solid start early.
His second interception proved costly, landing in the hands of Jamar Johnson who promptly returned it 63 yards for a touchdown.
Yikes.
Up to that point, it seemed as if the Vols were destined for a disappointing end to their season.
Guarantano’s fortunes would only worsen when he was replaced by Brian Maurer in the third quarter. Luckily for him, Maurer’s play was equally as bad despite Tennessee getting a field goal on his lone drive.
Pruitt would go back to his veteran signal-caller for the rest of the game, a decision that proved ingenious.
While he wouldn’t find the end zone with his arm, Guarantano guided the Vols on back-to-back drives that both resulted in touchdowns.
Up until the 4:21 mark of the fourth period, UT had yet to find the end zone despite getting inside the Indiana 20-yard line on two occasions.
A far cry from the Tennessee team that finished the season winning six of its final seven games.
Just when it seemed like all was lost, however, Guarantano would come to life, just as he had done during UT’s five-game win streak. Just at the perfect moment.
In a way, it cultivates Guarantano’s career as the Vols’ starting quarterback. Overcoming adversity seems to have become one of his favorite activities. Even when he was watching from the sideline, he was engaged.
Whether that was by cheering on Maurer and the offense or giving pointers from his vantage point, Guarantano stayed involved, and his persistence paid off.
If Thursday marks the end of his time under center, then Guarantano couldn’t have picked a better way to go out.
No, his numbers weren’t eye-popping. Frankly, most of the time, they haven’t been. This speaks to his ability to do just enough, be just the catalyst Tennessee’s offense needs to carry it across the finish line.
Not pretty nor perfect, but enough.
That’s exactly what Guarantano has done throughout his nearly three-year career as the Vols’ starting quarterback. That’s what he, for better or for worse, had stood for.
It’s yet to be seen whether or not he will remain UT’s starting quarterback moving forward, but given Maurer’s potential development and the fact that Tennessee is bringing in two new quarterbacks next season raises some questions regarding Guarantano’s future.
Frankly, I don’t think he’ll start another game for the Vols. That’s not a slight towards him, either.
The depth and range of young talent at the quarterback position for Tennessee is going to be quite impressive next year, and Guarantano will be heading into his final year of eligibility.
We likely saw his ceiling in Columbia, Missouri when the Vols clinched a bowl berth. We’ve yet to see Maurer’s ceiling.
Or Harrison Bailey’s, UT’s highly-touted four-star quarterback prospect out of Georgia.
Looking towards the future is inevitable in college football. It is an endless rotating cycle of players by nature.
I can assure you that Tennessee would have loved to have kept several players from the recent decade for longer periods, it just simply doesn’t work like that.
It remains to be seen whether or not Guarantano will enter the transfer portal following this season, but evens if he does, he’s left his mark on the Vols.
For better or for worse, Guarantano was always himself. Sometimes, you can’t ask for more than that from a young athlete.
