Jarrett Guarantano, Washington State Football News: Draft Scout Player News

09/05/20 - QB Jarrett Guarantano, rSr/2022, Washington State

Tennessee's quarterback race starts with Guarantano, a fact offensive coordinator Jim Chaney emphasized last week and Weinke echoed Wednesday. The 6-foot-4, 230-pounder from Lodi, New Jersey, had a rocky first half of last season but helped stabilize the Vols as they won their final six games to cap an 8-5 record. Guarantano enters this season with 34 career appearances and 25 career starts, having completed 391 of 642 passes (61.0%) for 5,062 yards with 32 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. His 2.02% career interception rate is the lowest in program history, and program history includes Peyton Manning.

"There is no doubt you see the confidence in Jarrett," Weinke said. "He had the opportunity to spend this offseason studying the offense and watching a lot of film. During this whole pandemic, and I've talked to him every single day, there wasn't a day when he wasn't doing something that would help get him better, whether he was working out or throwing. He came in here about 228 pounds and looked great, and we're trying to keep all that weight on him. "You see a different level of confidence in him because he has a better understanding of what exactly we're trying to get accomplished on every single play." Weinke added that Guarantano "becoming a functional thinker" and his anticipation are the biggest jumps he has performed in the past year. - Chattanooga Times Free Press

rSr/2022