Quarterbacks
Here’s what I charted for Jarrett Guarantano during the game:
Good throws: 9 throws on 13 attempts
Bad throws: 4 throws on 5 incompletions
Throws completed for a first down: 4 throws
Took a deep-shot downfield: 2-for-4, 102 yards
In shotgun: 21 times
Under center: 15 times
Dumped off to the running back: None
Play-action: 6 times
Had good protection: 10 times
Passing on third down: 4-for-6, 27 yards
Passing against the blitz: 4-for-7, 79 yards
As the last two stats indicate, Guarantano did a nice job for the second straight week of showing poise against the blitz and on third down. For the majority of the game, ETSU brought four-or-five man pass rushes, but on third down, the Bucs tended to bring a six-man rush. Tennessee allowed one sack, coming against a four-man rush.
Three-man rush: 5
Four-man rush: 26
Five-man rush: 21
Six-man rush: 9
I thought Guarantano impressed for a second straight week. He wasn’t asked to do a ton, but when he was asked to throw the ball, he showed zip, touch, and accuracy. The two biggest complaints I heard from fans was that Guarantano couldn’t complete the deep ball, despite showing off his arm on completions to Marquez Callaway and Josh Palmer.
While Guarantano was 2-for-4 on deep passes, his incompletions to Callaway in the back of the end zone and Palmer weren’t bad passes. He gave Callaway a chance to make a play with a 50/50 ball, and on his deep shot to Palmer, the sophomore receiver didn’t run to where the ball was correctly.
Another complaint geared towards Guarantano was that he held on to the ball too long despite being sacked just twice through two games. He did hold on to the ball too long on his sack near the end of the first quarter, especially since Callaway had a one-on-one match-up. Instead of taking a sack, he needed to throw it up to his No. 1 receiver, and give him a chance to make a play. The positive in this situation is that Guarantano learned from this. On the next drive, he had a similar situation, and instead of taking a sack, he completed a 51-yard pass to Callaway to set up a Jeremy Banks touchdown.
Keller Chryst also appeared in extensive time this week, impressing on a 50-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Murphy. Chryst finished the day throwing for 70 yards and a touchdown on 3-of-3 passing. Here’s what I charted for Chryst:
Good throws: 3 throws on 3 attempts
Bad throws: None
Throws completed for a first down: None
Took a deep-shot downfield: 1-for-1, 50 yards, a touchdown
In shotgun: 5 times
Under center: 20 times
Dumped off to the running back: None
Play-action: 3 times
Had good protection: 3 times
Passing on third down: N/A
Passing against the blitz: 1-for-1, 50-yards, a touchdown
