What We Know After the Orange and White Game

Photo By Tennessee Athletics

The annual spring game in Neyland Stadium typically does not accurately represent the team that will take the field in the fall. There will be key players arriving on campus at the start of the summer, and many of the freshman will see drastic improvements from where they currently stand. The players should be even more accustomed to the new assistant coaches, including Coach Jim Chaney’s playbook, by the time Georgia State comes to Neyland for the Vols’ season-opening game on August 31. Still, it is important to evaluate what we do know about the team, in order to understand what the summer may entail.

Guarantano is the Starting Quarterback, but There is Much Talent Behind Him

Jarrett completed 19-37 passes for 4 touchdowns and no interceptions, en route to and Orange and White Game MVP Award on Saturday. He had a quality performance and the starting job is undoubtedly his. Behind him on the depth chart are JT Shrout and Brian Maurer. Shrout completed 10-19 pass attempts for 138 yards and a touchdown. In Maurer’s first action in Neyland Stadium, he threw for 105 yards and completed 7-10 passes. Shrout’s long went for 43 yards and Maurer’s farthest pass of the day was 35 yards. Guarantano’s long of 52 yards went to Marquez Callaway.

Jauan Jennings (2), Dominick Wood-Anderson and Josh Palmer were the recipients of Guarantano’s touchdown passes. After the game, Jarrett spoke about his comfort level with his receivers, saying, “I’ve been with those guys a lot. I’m going on my fourth year here and I’ve been throwing to Marquez, Palmer, Brandon, and Jauan ever since I got here. It’s been very easy to adjust with them and we’re really starting to see the same things. The next step for us is we have to take the next thing to coverages and be able to see what we’re feeling on each coverage. That comes with film study and being around each other.”

The three scholarship quarterbacks Tennessee has this year are all talented athletes. Guarantano is the clear starter, as a redshirt junior, but there are two elite arms behind him.

The Backfield is Strong

Ty Chandler and Tim Jordan will lead the running back corps, once again this fall. Jordan carried the ball 8 times for 39 yards on Saturday, while Chandler recorded 32 yards on 7 carries. They each had 2 receptions for 15 yards on the orange team. Jeremy Banks chipped in 7 carries for a total of 24 yards. Chandler, a junior, showed off his speed and ability to burst through the tackles and pick up large chunks of yards. Jordan will also be a powerful force out of the backfield. The two have the potential to shape into one of the best duos in the SEC, but their production will certainly be determined by how well the offensive line improves.

At the conclusion of Saturday’s game, Chandler was asked about what picked up on the offensive end. He replied with, “We started a little slow. I feel like once we got more up-tempo fast paced then we started moving the ball well. I feel like that helped us click more and just allowed us to get going. But once we got going, we were moving pretty good.”

There is no Lack of Pass Catchers

The Vols will have plenty of reliable targets to throw to this fall. Seniors, Jauan Jennings and Marquez Callaway lead the talented corps of wide receivers. Jennings hauled in 5 passes for 57 yards and 2 touchdowns, with Callaway recording 2 receptions for 61 yards. Josh Palmer totaled 3 catches for a total of 25 yards and won the Harvey Robinson Award for most improved offensive player this spring. The trio of receivers is going to receive the bulk of targets from Guarantano this season. Tyler Byrd had 2 receptions for 50 yards and Jordan Murphy snagged a 31-yard pass. As for the tight ends, Jackson Lowe had 3 catches for 60 yards and Dominick Wood-Anderson had 4 receptions for 19 yards.

At the conclusion of the game on Saturday, Pruitt commented on Jennings’ progression, by saying, “I don’t know how many balls Jauan caught today. I don’t even know if he caught a ball, but I know the fact that he can participate in spring ball and in the offseason conditioning is much better than it was last year. Last year he had a knee surgery, and we didn’t know if he was going to be on the team. So he’s come a long way, and he has a long way to go. We all do, right? He’s got to continue to work hard at all of the little things that have helped him have success in the past. He’s got to continue to do that.” Jauan and Marquez have the potential to be one of the best wide receiver duos in the SEC. it’s up to them to end their collegiate careers on a high note.

Offensive Line Will Be Young, but Improved

On April 9th, Coach Pruitt stated about the offensive line, “It's not where we want to be, but there are a lot of positives... We've got to be more consistent and we've got to be better finishers." That really sums up the offensive line situation for the Vols right now. The group didn’t necessarily have the greatest performance on Saturday, but they were missing some pieces. Darnell Wright has yet to arrive on campus, and Brandon Kennedy, the expected starting center, did not play. Other guys like Jahmir Johnson and K’Rojhn Calbert have great opportunities to continue to improve this offseason.

When August 31st rolls around, the offensive line has a chance to look very good, especially since guys like Nathan Niehaus, Marcus Tatum, Ryan Johnson and Jerome Carvin all started at least 5 games last season and can step up to fill gaps in the line. Freshman, Chris Akporoghene will also have an opportunity to make an immediate impact. After a summer under his belt, 5-star tackle Wanya Morris should be a force in the SEC. It’s going to be a waiting game to see how the offensive line takes form.

Talented Secondary Leads Defense

Jaylen McCollough had himself a great showing on Saturday evening. The freshman recorded 6.5 tackles (6 solo), 2 interceptions and a pass breakup. Jaylen adds tremendous talent to an already talented secondary. Other talented members of the secondary include sophomores Alontae Taylor, Bryce Thompson and Trevon Flowers. Juniors Theo Jackson and Shawn Shamburger, along with seniors Nigel Warrior and Baylen Buchanan can all contribute to the defensive efforts this season. Shamburger logged 4 solo tackles and 3 pass breakups on Saturday.

During his April 9th press conference, Coach Pruitt praised the athletic secondary, saying, “Most every guy in our secondary can play multiple spots." This is exciting, especially since much of the talent is young and their best football is still ahead of them.

As for the linebackers, Shanon Reid led all players with 9 total tackles (8 solo) on Saturday. Additionally, senior linebacker Daniel Bituli won the Andy Spiva Award for being named the most improved defensive player this spring. There are still some question marks on the defensive line, but there are promising aspects to this defense.