Quarterback
Nathanael: A
No turnovers and big plays will earn you an “A” no matter who you play. Jarrett Guarantano once again looked fairly crisp and had more good throws than bad on his way to 154 passing yards on 8-of-13 passing. He held the ball too long on his lone sack, but most of the pressure he faced was due to lack of protection rather than his own doing. Keller Chryst didn’t do much but looked solid still, and he completed a wide open 50-yard touchdown to Jordan Murphy. The Vols had three plays go for 50 or more yards through the air.
Ben: B+
Jarrett Guarantano received the bulk of the playing time while Keller Chryst appeared in mop-up duty. Both quarterbacks did their job, not turning the football over for a second straight game and displaying the deep ball. From Guarantano, I would have liked to see the deep ball completed more consistently. He hit Josh Palmer and Marquez Callaway for long completions but also left two deep balls short. Going forward, I would like to see Tennessee utilize Guarantano’s talented arm a bit more. For now, you don’t want to show too much, and the ground game has been fairly efficient. But against the top teams, Guarantano is going to need to need to have a big game through the air in order to complement the run.
