If there were an award for being the best bigger person in Tennessee football history, Jarrett Guarantano may win it. This is a quarterback who was all but sabotaged during his time in Knoxville by two horrendous coaches and often times a lack of support. He took a ton of heat from the fans for those issues.
Nonetheless, Guarantano woke up Saturday morning deciding to show love to Tennessee once again. Guarantano went to social media to detail his love for this Tennessee team and open himself up to go on any Vol related podcast that would take him. He addressed so many things related to his time at UT in the process.
Just for a quick refresher, let’s look back on his career. Guarantano was a highly touted commitment out of New Jersey and played for the Vols from 2016 through 2020 under Butch Jones and Jeremy Pruitt. In addition to playing for two horrible coaches, he had four different offensive coordinators his first four years at UT, and his one year of stability was sabotaged by COVID shortening the season.
That all resulted in horrible play, which turned the fans against him and led him to transfer to the Washington State Cougars for his final year of eligibility in 2021. Nonetheless, Guarantano signed with two teams in the pros in 2022, so he’s got NFL money, while Pruitt is out of college football.
Simply put, in many ways, Guarantano comes out looking way better. As a result, he doesn’t have to reach out to Vol Nation now given how he was treated. For him to do that shows how much of a bigger person he is and how much respect he deserves for what he was put through in Knoxville.
Vol fans should welcome him back.
Guarantano gives off the vibe of somebody who had a bad hand dealt to him but still focuses on his own mistakes rather than what other people did. That’s a mentality any coach would want around their players, and it’s one the Vols could use. His willingness to swallow his pride and reach out to UT speaks volumes.
It’s a shame, looking back, at how things played out for Guarantano in Knoxville. In a better situation, he could have gone down as a much better quarterback. However, he had to labor under some of the worst coaching and the pinnacle of instability, and he was one of many who paid for that. It’s time to look past that and welcome him back to UT.
3 Responses
One of the toughest QBs I’ve ever seen. He took a beating physically and mentally at UT. I have nothing but respect for Jarrett. Welcome back. Go Vols!
I always thought Guarantano had a raw deal at Tennessee, I hope he is doing well.
Bill (98)
So sorry about what you went through. It shouldn’t have happened.