Tag: Harrison Bailey

Jeremy Pruitt details Vols’ plan of playing both Harrison Bailey, J.T. Shrout against Florida

Florida defeated Tennessee, 31-19.

No. 6 Florida (8-1, 8-1 SEC) defeated Tennessee, 31-19, Saturday at Neyland Stadium.

The Vols featured three quarterbacks against Florida. Freshman Harrison Bailey started the contest and Brian Maurer and J.T. Shrout also played.

Following the loss to Florida, third-year Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt discussed his quarterbacks.

“J.T. really had two weeks of really good practice, and then on Wednesday, he was throwing a ball and then his shoulder popped,” Pruitt said. “We didn’t really even know if he could play going into today, but he felt like he could. We had a plan to play both of the guys going in if J.T. could. We went with Harrison to start and were rocking along okay. I know we didn’t create a ton of explosive plays, but we were kind of changing the momentum of the game there and then gave up a drive right before halftime.

“As the game went in the second half, there were a couple plays that I thought maybe we could have been a little more aggressive on. J.T. is, from an experience standpoint, two years older than Harrison, so just getting him out there and going, I thought he did a nice job at the end.”

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Bailey finished the contest 14-of-21 for 111 yards and one touchdown. He was sacked five times.

Shrout completed 12 of 14 passes for 121 yards and one touchdown. He was sacked one time. Maurer completed his only passing attempt for eight yards.

Redshirt senior quarterback Jarrett Guarantano did not play against the Gators.

“He hadn’t practiced in 13 days,” Pruitt said of Guarantano. “A lot of those guys had not practiced in 13 days that played today. It’s probably a lot tougher on a quarterback.”

Dec 5, 2020; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Jeremy Pruitt speaks with quarterback Harrison Bailey (15) during the first half against the Florida Gators at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Pruitt was also asked about the quarterback unit going forward with games against Vanderbilt and Texas A&M remaining in the regular season.

“Every week — so you all will never have to ask me this again — every week we see who competes well in practice, who does the best job that we feel like affects the guys around him, and we will do that as long as I’m the head football coach here at every position, so you don’t have to ask me again,” Pruitt said.

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PHOTOS: Harrison Bailey versus Florida

PHOTOS: Harrison Bailey versus Florida

Freshman quarterback Harrison Bailey had his first career start Saturday against No. 6 Florida (8-1, 8-1 SEC). The Gators defeated Tennessee (2-6, 2-6 SEC), 31-19.

The 6-foot-5, 225-pound freshman finished the contest 14-of-21, 111 yards and one touchdown.

Bailey was 8-of-12 for 71 yards and one touchdown in the first half.

Below are photos of Bailey in his first career start at Tennessee.

Update on Tennessee’s starting quarterback for the Florida game

Tennessee will play Florida Saturday at Neyland Stadium.

Tennessee (2-5, 2-5 SEC) will host No. 6 Florida (7-1, 7-1) Saturday at Neyland Stadium.

Kickoff is slated for 3:30 p.m. EST. CBS will televise the contest.

Following Wednesday’s practice, third-year Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt provided an update on the Vols’ quarterback situation ahead of playing Florida.

Photo By Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics

Pruitt mentioned he has not decided on a starting quarterback against the Gators.

“We’ll make a decision as we get closer to the game,” Pruitt said.

During Pruitt’s weekly appearance on the Southeastern Conference teleconference Wednesday, he also discussed Tennessee’s quarterback unit.

He mentioned freshman quarterback Harrison Bailey “will definitely play Saturday” against Florida.

KNOXVILLE, TN – SEPTEMBER 03, 2020 – Quarterback Harrison Bailey #15 of the Tennessee Volunteers during 2020 Fall Camp practice on Haslam Field in Knoxville, TN. Photo By Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics

Bailey has appeared in three games for the Vols in 2020. The 6-foot-5, 225-pound signal-caller is 14-for-23, while throwing for 175 yards and two interceptions.

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Harrison Bailey ‘will definitely play’ against Florida

Tennessee will play Florida Saturday at Neyland Stadium.

Jeremy Pruitt took part in his weekly appearance on the Southeastern Conference teleconference Wednesday.

Pruitt mentioned freshman quarterback Harrison Bailey “will definitely play Saturday” against Florida.

“To what extent, we’ve not decided yet,” Pruitt said of Bailey.

KNOXVILLE, TN – AUGUST 25, 2020 – Quarterback Harrison Bailey #15 of the Tennessee Volunteers during 2020 Fall Camp practice on Robert E. White indoor field in the Anderson Training Center in Knoxville, TN. Photo By Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics

Bailey has appeared in three games for the Vols in 2020. The 6-foot-5, 225-pound signal-caller is 14-for-23, while throwing for 175 yards and two interceptions.

“I feel like the three games that he’s played in, obviously the situations were probably favorable to him at the time, based off the score,” Pruitt said of Bailey. “I thought he handled himself really well. He continues to improve.

“The more practice that he gets, probably the more comfortable he is in the system and his surroundings and the people around him.”

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Jeremy Pruitt previews Harrison Bailey ahead of Florida game

Tennessee plays Florida Saturday at Neyland Stadium.

Tennessee (2-5, 2-5 SEC) will host No. 5 Florida (7-1, 7-1 SEC) Saturday at Neyland Stadium.

The Vols’ quarterback unit has been affected by COVID-19 and contact tracing protocols.

Ahead of playing Florida, third-year UT head coach Jeremy Pruitt mentioned one Tennessee quarterback has “been affected” by contact tracing.

“I’ve tried to be as transparent as we can with it,” Pruitt said. “We can’t say exactly who, but these guys that are out there practicing are working hard to create chemistry with our guys, so we’ll continue to do that this week.”

Freshman quarterback Harrison Bailey has appeared in three games for the Vols in 2020. The 6-foot-5, 225-pound signal-caller is 14-for-23, while throwing for 175 yards and two interceptions.

Nov 21, 2020; Auburn, Alabama, USA; Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Harrison Bailey (15) drops back to pass against the Auburn Tigers during the fourth quarter at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

Pruitt also discussed Bailey’s development since arriving at Tennessee and ahead of playing the Gators.

“I really don’t think the issue is the playbook,” Pruitt said. “Harrison is a smart guy who has worked really hard. It’s been more about opportunities and getting live opportunities. He’s had a chance to do more and more of that as the season has gone. When you just talk about the volume of work, playing a little bit at the end of the Kentucky game, the Arkansas game and a couple of weeks ago against Auburn has been really good for him, just for the speed of the game to prepare him for the future.

“That’s been really, really good. He works hard every single day. He’s developing more leadership around the rest of his teammates. That’s part of being a quarterback is getting the other 10 guys to be at their best. He continues to do what we ask him to do.”

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Jeremy Pruitt discusses if Harrison Bailey will be Vols’ starting quarterback moving forward

Jeremy Pruitt discusses if Harrison Bailey will be Vols’ starting quarterback moving forward.

Tennessee suffered its fifth consecutive loss Saturday at Auburn.

Auburn defeated Tennessee, 30-17.

Following the game, third-year Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt discussed if freshman Harrison Bailey will be the starting quarterback moving forward.

“I think you have to evaluate everybody in our program,” Pruitt said. “Our goal is to win every game. Every week we play the guys that give us the best opportunity, so we’ll continue to do that.

“We had to see how each guy played in this game and figure out, moving forward, what’s the best option.”

Bailey entered the game at Auburn in the fourth quarter. He finished the contest 7-for-10 and 86 yards.

Nov 21, 2020; Auburn, Alabama, USA; Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Harrison Bailey (15) drops back to pass against the Auburn Tigers during the fourth quarter at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

Harrison Bailey ‘is going to have success in the future’ at Tennessee

Jalin Hyatt discusses freshman quarterback Harrison Bailey.

KNOXVILLE — Tennessee (2-4, 2-4 SEC) will not play Saturday in Week 8 of a 10-game, SEC-only season.

The Vols were slated to host Texas A&M, however the contest was postponed due to COVID-19 concerns with the Aggies’ program.

Tennessee student-athletes met with media prior to the game being postponed.

Freshman wide receiver Jalin Hyatt met with media for the first time Tuesday and discussed Tennessee’s offense needing to be more explosive, especially in the second half of games.

“The problems with the second half is self-explanatory,” Hyatt said. “We just have to be more explosive. We need to come out and act like the first half didn’t happen and come out the second half 0-0. That’s the mindset we have to have coming out of halftime.”

KNOXVILLE, TN – AUGUST 19, 2020 – Wide receiver Jalin Hyatt #11 of the Tennessee Volunteers during 2020 Fall Camp practice on Haslam Field in Knoxville, TN. Photo By Caleb Jones/Tennessee Athletics

Hyatt also discussed freshman quarterback Harrison Bailey and his progress throughout the season.

“With Harrison Bailey, he came in my recruiting class and I am very proud of him,” Hyatt said. “He is like a close brother to me and he definitely is going to have success in the future, and I can’t wait to play with him and it’s going to be fun.”

Harrison Bailey. Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire

Vols have ‘best practice’ for timing between quarterbacks and receivers

Vols have ‘best practice’ for timing between quarterbacks and receivers.

KNOXVILLE — Tennessee (2-4, 2-4 SEC) was scheduled to play Texas A&M (5-1, 5-1 SEC) Saturday at Neyland Stadium.

The game has been postponed due to COVID-19 concerns surrounding Texas A&M’s program and will be tentatively rescheduled for Dec. 12.

Even though Saturday’s contest with the Aggies was postponed, third-year Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt still took part in his weekly “Vol Calls” radio appearance.

Pruitt discussed how his team had a good day of practice Wednesday and not having a game this week helps some of the younger student-athletes getting more reps.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for everybody, but absolutely the younger guys, too,” Pruitt said. “The circumstances, not just here at Tennessee, just talking to the other guys in the league, it’s been a very unusual fall, summer and fall. Just getting these guys kind of in a rhythm has been tough, not just for us, everybody.

“I think these next couple of days, especially for our quarterbacks, our wide receivers, I thought today was probably the best practice we’ve had with our quarterbacks, our wide receivers, with timing, more understanding of what we’re doing. It was good, it was good for all these younger guys, and even the older guys.”

Redshirt senior quarterback Jarrett Guarantano remains in concussion protocol after suffering a head injury and exiting last week’s game at Arkansas.

“He did not practice today, so we’ll wait until doc says that he can come back,” Pruitt said of Guarantano.

Tennessee is scheduled to return to action Nov. 21 at Auburn.

Vols’ quarterback commit reinforces Tennessee pledge

This 2021 QB doesn’t plan on decommitting from the Vols.

Tennessee has went through offensive struggles in the last six quarters of football.

In the second half against Georgia and the Kentucky game combined, the Vols have scored one touchdown.

Quarterback struggles have held down Tennessee, with two different signal-callers throwing three interceptions against Kentucky.

One future Tennessee quarterback remains steadfast in his commitment, despite the product UT has been showing on game day.

Kaidon Salter is a 2021 prospect that is a 4-star and No. 7 dual-threat quarterback in his class, per the 247Sports Composite.

Salter has been committed to Tennessee for months and would be a welcome addition to the Vols’ roster at the moment, although he will not arrive in Knoxville until next season.

For the moment, former blue-chip recruit and freshman Harrison Bailey may be the spark Tennessee needs at quarterback.

The situation on offense may appear bleak at the moment, but Tennessee fans can rest assured help is on the way in the form of Bailey and Salter.

Jeremy Pruitt recaps Vols’ Sunday scrimmage

Jeremy Pruitt recaps Vols’ Sunday scrimmage.

KNOXVILLE — Jeremy Pruitt announced last week that he scheduled a scrimmage slated for Sunday following playing at Georgia.

The scrimmage was intended for student-athletes who are not playing a huge role during the early part of the season.

Pruitt recapped the Vols’ scrimmage during his weekly Monday press conference. The third-year Tennessee head coach said UT’s scrimmage “was really good.”

“I think we took like 49 snaps and Harrison (Bailey) took every one of them,” Pruitt said. “For him, that was really good because based off the way our fall camp went, he didn’t get a lot of live action. We just didn’t have enough plays for him to get in there and get going. So, it was good for him.

“It was good for a lot of players. A lot of energy. There were a lot of guys that, to me, that kind of stuck out, so we got to continue to do this and give these guys an opportunity to develop.”

Harrison Bailey, Photo By Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics.