Tennessee QB Coach Chris Weinke Offers Praise for Quarterback Jarrett Guarantano Ahead of 2020 Season

Weinke praised the rising senior during a press conference on Wednesday afternoon...

Jarrett Guarantano had an unusual Junior season last year which featured both low points — such as when he fumbled on the goal line late in the 4th quarter against Alabama — as well as high points — such as when he threw for over 400 yards in his best match-up of his season against Missouri. His inconsistency throughout the season caused much frustration for Tennessee fans, as they often found themselves cheering the Junior on at one minute, and loathing the decision to start him the next.

While back-up quarterbacks J.T. Shrout and Brian Maurer had occasional cameo appearances throughout the season, for the most part, Guarantano was the man starting behind center throughout the year. This was likely due to the Vols’ lack of options at the position, as Maurer and Shrout — both of whom were freshman — struggled with the experience aspect of the game. However, this season the quarterback room is much different after both Maurer and Shrout have gotten a year of life in the SEC under their belts. In addition to Maurer and Shrout, Harrison Bailey, who was touted as one of the top recruits the nation had to offer last year, is set to make his debut in orange and white this season — although he appears to be somewhat fading in the race for the starting job due to the lack of practices caused by the Coronavirus Pandemic.

Despite all of the Vols’ options at the quarterback position, one name still rises above all the rest: Jarrett Guarantano. While J.T. Shrout has undoubtedly improved during practices this fall, Guarantano’s experience likely still means that he is the man to beat this off-season. Quarterback coach Chris Weinke opened up on the quarterback battle, as well as Guarantano’s experience and struggles during a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.

Weinke began the meeting with the media by addressing last season and what he learned about Guarantano from the year that was centered around overcoming adversity. “You look back and in any situation you run into, the struggles we had early in the season, you can’t allow those to snowball,” said Weinke to the media during the virtual press conference. “It was a constant communication with him, regardless of what happened, if he was pulled or had an opportunity to start or came into a game. There was communication with him every day that he had to stay the course and believe in himself.”

“As we all know — whoever’s played this position — there are times that you’re playing with a whole lot of confidence and there’s other times that you’re not playing with any confidence,” continued Weikine, who played quarterback at Florida State during the late 1990’s. “I think that was probably the case early on with him when we lost early. But, credit to him, he stayed the course. I feel like he started to gain more confidence and finish the season off right.”

“There’s no doubt that you see the confidence in Jarrett,” said Weinke. “Having the opportunity to spend the whole off season really studying this offense, watching a lot of film. I give credit to him, this whole pandemic, when it started, I talked to him every single day. There wasn’t a day that I talked to him that he wasn’t doing something to help himself get better – working out, throwing. He came in here weighing about 228 pounds – looks great trying to keep all of that weight on right now. You see a different level of confidence in him because he understands exactly what we’re trying to get accomplished on every single play. The second year in a system, there’s no doubt. There’s just so much more familiarity. You just see him be more comfortable and he operates faster. Right now, he’s operating at a high level.”

Weinke then turned to what Guarantano has to do in order to operate at a high level during the 2020 season. According to the former Florida State quarterback, Guarantano has already taken the first few steps in making sure that he is able to have a successful senior season. “He focused on his body, to make sure he’s big, strong and fast,” said Weinke. “He focused on those physical sides of him. More importantly, when I say operate at a high level, that’s becoming a functional thinker – taking the information, being able to process it and then executing the play.”

“You just see him so much faster with his feet, with his decisions,” continued the Tennessee quarterback coach. “His anticipation, in my opinion, has probably been the brightest spot that I’ve seen from a year ago. Now that he understands the big picture, he can see it and anticipate things much better now because he’s more comfortable. It’s collectively knowing and understanding and then physically being able to put it together. He’s operating as goods as I’ve seen him, since I’ve been here.”

The first game of Guarantano’s senior season will come in just a few weeks against the South Carolina Gamecocks on the road in Columbia. While coaches have spent the entire off-season praising the rising senior for his improvement, it will be then when he is able to put his talent on full display for the world to see. As things stand right now, the opener will be played on September 26th at 7:30ET.