Will Vols QBs Jarrett Guarantano or Will McBride adjust better to new system this spring?
Blake Toppmeyer
This is the final installment, Part IX, of a series examining the outlook for Tennessee at each position in advance of spring practice, which begins Tuesday. Today, we preview the quarterbacks.
Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt's words struck close to home when he said last week that "you can’t win in this league without a quarterback."
Tennessee ranked 12th in the SEC in passing efficiency last season and went 4-8.
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To be fair, the Vols' 2017 problems extended far beyond the quarterback position. But QBs get the most scrutiny, and one of the biggest story lines of the offseason will be who claims the starting job in Pruitt's first season.
The good news is, he's got options. But each candidate has much to prove.
Returning starters (1)
Jarrett Guarantano
Other returners (1)
Will McBride
Newcomers (2)
Keller Chryst, JT Shrout
Outlook
Tennessee’s quarterback position was a revolving door in 2017. Quinten Dormady started the first five games. His strong play after halftime was a key reason why the Vols rallied to beat Georgia Tech 42-41 in overtime of the season opener, but he couldn’t meet that bar in the weeks that followed.
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Guarantano replaced Dormady in Week 6, and a shoulder injury ended Dormady’s season in October.
Guarantano started six of the final seven games, with a sprained ankle sidelining him in the season’s 10th game. Will McBride made his first career start in place of Guarantano against Missouri, before Guarantano returned the following week.
Perhaps the biggest indicator of the Vols’ lackluster passing attack was this: Tennessee had just 11 passing TDs in 12 games.
Guarantano’s play improved as the season progressed, but he was hampered, at times, by slow decision-making in the pocket, which played a hand in him being frequently sacked. Although Guarantano is mobile and kept plays alive with his feet, he didn’t seem to be a natural running Butch Jones’ read-option.
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McBride is the best runner of any candidate the Vols will have this fall, but will that matter as much with the Vols shifting to a pro-style system under offensive coordinator Tyson Helton?
The job is Guarantano’s to lose this spring. He has a leg-up on Chryst, a graduate transfer from Stanford, and Shrout, an incoming freshman. They won’t arrive until the summer.
One prediction
Guarantano will look comfortable in the pro-style system and play well in the spring game.
If Guarantano can get some decent pass protection — a big if, considering the state of UT’s offensive line — there’s no reason to think he can’t thrive in Helton’s system.
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Guarantano showed promise against Kentucky, Southern Miss (before he got injured), LSU and Vanderbilt.
Writing Guarantano off after an up-and-down redshirt freshman season would be a mistake.
One to watch
McBride seems like a better fit in a system that puts a premium on a quarterback’s mobility — perhaps he’ll transfer after the spring in search for such an offense — but as one of two scholarship QBs in spring camp, he’s worth monitoring.
A strong performance by McBride this spring would make the QB competition even more interesting come August.
Biggest question
Does either quarterback take well to this system?
A scheme is only as good as the quarterback running it. Neither Guarantano nor McBride was recruited to run a pro-style system, but Pruitt said ball security and leadership are the most important qualities he’s looking for from his QBs. Those are important attributes for a quarterback in any system.
That said, if Guarantano or McBride can prove he’s poised, accurate and can throw a good deep ball, it’ll be a needed bonus.