Tennessee only played one half of its spring game due to inclement weather. But Quinten Dormady led the offense to an impressive performance.
The White team defeated the Orange team 44-29 in the abstract scoring system.
Circle of Life
The game officially got underway with the Circle of Life drill, yet only three points were awarded. Quay Picou got the best of Trey Smith in the opening rep for the Orange team. Ethan Wolf and Jakob Johnson won their respective drills for the White.
Johnson was the only one who definitely won his rep. All of the other reps could have been called draws, but Johnson pushed back Austin Smith well on the final rep to get the last point.
We're underway from Neyland! Here's Jakob Johnson getting a point for the white team. pic.twitter.com/ObKLXhrCex
— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) April 22, 2017
In the first quarter, Quinten Dormady lead a perfect first drive, scoring the first touchdown of the game. Dormady was 5-for-5 with 51 yards and this touchdown pass to Jauan Jennings. He finished 10-for-10 with 120 yards and two touchdowns.
Dormady caps off a perfect opening drive with this pass to Jauan Jennings — White leads 20-3 (6:05/1Q) pic.twitter.com/luh76uTS70
— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) April 22, 2017
The opening drive was easy for the offense. Dormady threw on the majority of plays, with starting running back Carlin Fils-Aime rushing for just nine yards. Every one of Dormady’s throws moved the chains.
Jarrett Guarantano’s first drive ended quickly. The redshirt freshman just threw one pass, a ball that was nearly intercepted by D.J. Henderson. Without John Kelly playing, Butch Jones relied heavily on the passing game to move the chains in the opening quarter.
Guarantano moved the ball better on the second drive, taking the ball down to the 16. Darrell Taylor recorded his second sack of the game to end the drive, capped off by a missed 35-yard field goal from Aaron Medley. Guarantano was 3-for-4 with 41 yards on his second drive. That second drive was with the first team on the field.
On the defensive side of the ball, Landon Knoll was the leading tackler with five stops. Both of Darrell Taylor’s tackles were sacks. Each of those sacks were against Jarrett Guarantano.
Before the game was called, Tennessee also handed out awards to standout performers from the spring.
Al Wilson Award: Darrell Taylor
Peyton Manning Teammate Award: John Kelly
Harvey Robinson Award (most improved offense): Jakob Johnson— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) April 22, 2017
Andy Spiva Award (most improved defender): Justin Martin
John Stucky Award (best in offseason program): Quay Picou & Latrell Williams— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) April 22, 2017
Quarterback Challenge
The Quarterback challenge never had an announced winner, but Will McBride and Jarrett Guarantano scored the most points after the first round of throws before the Jauan Jennings Hail Mary challenge.
Jarrett Guarantano going through the quarterback challenge — scoring five points to win it pic.twitter.com/j8GrVr0fOm
— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) April 22, 2017
Will McBride scored four points on the challenge, but Guarantano scored five.
Butch Jones said he was pleased with how the QBs performed all game, specifically in the quarterback challenge drill.
“They’ve made significant progress,” Jones said after the game “I thought that was evident in the quarterback challenge. That’s a measuring stick for us. I’ve been pleased with the quarterback position all spring.”
Jones added that there is no frontrunner in the competition so far.
“We’re comfortable with all of our quarterbacks. Quinten has live game repetitions and that’s hard to simulate. But also, I think Jarrett has done a good job being a student of the game. I think all quarterbacks have benefited from playing with Joshua Dobbs,” Jones added.
Quinten Dormady was perfect during the game, but only hit one throw on the first round. He nailed the Jauan Jennings cutout on his last throw to score five additional points.
Quinten Dormady nails the Jauan Jennings Hail Mary challenge pic.twitter.com/oBtiH0HnSa
— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) April 22, 2017
Dormady, how interns at the print shop on campus, said he saw the cutout before anyone else on the team did.
“I thought that was a fun way to end it,” Dormady said.
Jones said after the game that he expects the quarterback competition to go all the way into fall camp. Dormady added that he’s ready to step up into a leadership role as the summer starts.
“Coming in, you know you’ll have to embrace the leadership role…as we get back from our break in May it will all start up pretty quick,” Dormady said.
Cut Short
Due to inclement weather, the game was cut short at halftime after the conclusion of the quarterback challenge.
