George Pickens called for unsportsmanlike conduct…while Georgia is on defense

Georgia WR George Pickens was called for unsportsmanlike conduct….while UGA was on defense.

Well this odd. Georgia wide receiver George Pickens was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the second quarter against Tennessee….while Georgia was on defense.

How does that happen?

Here’s how.

As funny as this is, you just don’t need to be doing this. Tennessee would go on to score and take the lead.

Tennessee in top 6 for elite 2021 defensive tackle

The Vols have a chance to sign this elite prospect from the northeast.

Tennessee is still in the conversation to land Tywone Malone, a 2021 defensive tackle prospect from Oradell, New Jersey.

Malone is not only a blue-chip interior defensive lineman, but also a high-level baseball player.

The Vols are included with USC, Rutgers, Ole Miss, Florida State and Texas A&M in Malone’s final decision.

A 6-foot-3.5, 300-pound lineman, Malone is rated a 4-star prospect, and the No. 5 defensive tackle in his class per the 247Sports Composite. A strong, powerful defender, Malone is also the top prospect in New Jersey.

The Vols have a few connections that could help bring Malone to Knoxville.

Tight ends coach Joe Osovet is listed as his primary recruiter, a coach who is familiar with the northeast, having spent much of his career coaching JUCO football in New York.

Malone also attends Bergen Catholic High School in New Jersey, the alma mater of current Tennessee quarterback Jarrett Guarantano. A burgeoning baseball program at UT under Tony Vitello could also help in the effort for Malone’s signature.

The Vols’ 2021 recruiting class currently sits at No. 6 in the country, and No. 3 in the SEC. Tennessee currently has two defensive tackle commits, including 4-star prospect KaTron Evans.

Jarrett Guarantano is ‘continuing to work hard’ to put Vols ‘in right place’

Jeremy Pruitt details Jarrett Guarantano ‘continuing to work hard to put us in the right place’

KNOXVILLE — Jarrett Guarantano finished 14-for-23, 190 yards and two touchdowns through the air in a 35-12 win against Missouri.

The redshirt senior’s performance against Missouri during Week 2 of a 10-game SEC-only schedule came on the heels of a 19-of-31, 259 yards and one touchdown performance at South Carolina.

Tennessee quarterback Jarrett Guarantano (2) warms up before a game between Tennessee and Missouri at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn. on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2020.

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Following Tennessee’s win over the Tigers, third-year Vols’ head coach Jeremy Pruitt discussed how Guarantano is playing so far this season.

“I know there’s three times in the game that I didn’t feel like Jarrett made the right read, that I saw,” Pruitt said of Guarantano’s efficiency. “I think there were three times last week, so that’s three out of 76 or how many ever snaps we took today. He’s continuing to work hard to put us in the right place. We put a lot on him and he can handle it.”

Guarantano finished the contest 7-of-8 for 86 yards passing on third downs against Missouri.

Instant analysis: Tennessee-Missouri

Tennessee got to 2-0 with a home win over Missouri on Saturday.

KNOXVILLE – Tennessee is 2-0, after beating Missouri 35-12 on Saturday at Neyland Stadium to drop the Tigers to 0-2.

The Vols were clearly the better team from start to finish, with a distinct advantage in the trenches on offense. Cade Mays’ debut in a Tennessee uniform was apparent as the Vols were able to consistently get push up front, allowing Jarrett Guarantano to score twice on quarterback sneaks and convert two other fourth down situations.

The Vols’ offensive line play helped Tennessee’s running backs, as well.

Eric Gray carried the ball 16 times for 105 yards and a score to go with his 13-yard receiving touchdown. Senior Ty Chandler collected 90 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. Gray is the first Vol since Alvin Kamara to score a rushing and receiving touchdown in the same game.

Guarantano did not experience accuracy issues he saw in Columbia a week ago, completing 14-of-23 passes for 190 yards, one passing touchdown and no turnovers.

Wide receiver Josh Palmer had another good day as Tennessee’s No. 1 receiver, catching four passes for 71 yards. Freshman Jalin Hyatt showed off his speed, making his first big impact as a Tennessee player with 54 yards on two catches.

Missouri seemingly had to fight for every inch on offense, replacing Shawn Robinson with Connor Bazalek at quarterback early in the game. Bazalek found some success in the passing game with 218 yards, but threw one interception late to Theo Jackson. Larry Rountree carried the ball 18 times for 84 yards and a touchdown, but Tennessee seemed to have the upper hand throughout all four quarters.

The Vols were not able to generate a pass rush they did against South Carolina last week, but Deandre Johnson was able to get home for a sack, bringing him to 3.5 total on the season.

Tennessee now has the longest active win streak in the SEC, with eight straight wins and six straight conference victories.

Saturday’s performance was an encouraging one for Vols fans, as Tennessee showed it’s superiority against an SEC East opponent.

UT will turn around and travel to Georgia next Saturday, in a highly anticipated matchup against the Bulldogs.

Tennessee has not beaten Georgia since 2016, when Jauan Jennings caught a Hail Mary pass from Joshua Dobbs in the end zone to win in Athens during the final seconds.

Jarrett Guarantano’s ‘decision-making was good’ in win at South Carolina

Jarrett Guarantano’s ‘decision-making was good’ in win at South Carolina.

COLUMBIA — Tennessee opened the 2020 season with a 31-27 victory at South Carolina.

Redshirt senior quarterback Jarrett Guarantano finished the contest 19-of-31 for 259 passing yards and a touchdown. He also totaled 12 rushing yards one touchdown on the ground.

Following the Vols’ win, third-year Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt discussed Guarantano’s “inconsistent” performance against the Gamecocks.

Sep 26, 2020; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Jarrett Guarantano (2) looks to pass against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports

“His decision-making was good,” Pruitt told reporters on a Zoom call. “I think there were a couple times, maybe, he was confused a little bit. His decision-making was good. I know he would like to have some throws back.

“He was high on some throws, but you know what, we ain’t had hardly any wide receivers practice for a long time. We’ve got them back for the last five days. Hopefully we can clean some of this up and get our timing better for next week.”

Tennessee will host Missouri in Week 2 at Neyland Stadium.

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Jarrett Guarantano details adding weight during offseason

Jarrett Guarantano details adding weight during offseason.

KNOXVILLE — Jarrett Guarantano enters his redshirt senior season at Tennessee.

The Lodi, New Jersey native has put in a lot of work during the offseason — an offseason that took place in a global pandemic.

Guarantano stood at 6-foot-4, 218-pounds last season and enters the 2020 campaign at 6-foot-4, 230-pounds.

KNOXVILLE, TN – AUGUST 21, 2020 – Quarterback Jarrett Guarantano #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers during 2020 Fall Camp practice on Haslam Field in Knoxville, TN. Photo By Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics

The redshirt senior signal-caller met with media Friday on a Zoom call and discussed the weight he added in the offseason.

“Going into the offseason, me and Coach (Chris) Weinke decided on some things that I wanted to work on and some things that I wanted to progress in and one of those things was to put on weight and to get my speed back a little bit,” Guarantano said of adding 12 pounds during the offseason. “So, throughout the whole offseason it was kind of weird doing it, but I had my mom on my weight gain program, and she helped me out a lot with that.”

Tennessee will kick off the upcoming season Sept. 26 at South Carolina. Kick off is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by SEC Network.

Jarrett Guarantano: ‘I’m lucky to be a Tennessee Vol and I wouldn’t change that for the world’

Jarrett Guarantano: ‘I’m lucky to be a Tennessee Vol and I wouldn’t change that for the world’

KNOXVILLE — Jarrett Guarantano returns to Tennessee for his redshirt senior season in 2020.

Guarantano has been part of Tennessee’s program since 2016, his redshirt season, in which the Vols defeated Florida and Georgia but failed to win the SEC East division.

A 4-8 season followed in 2017 as Guarantano split time with quarterback Quinten Dormady. Jeremy Pruitt was then hired as head coach in 2018 and continues to rebuild Tennessee’s program back to a position in competing for championships.

Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire

Guarantano met with media Friday during the Vols’ third week of fall training camp. The redshirt senior reflected on his time at Tennessee during good times of finishing last season with a six-game win streak, but also during times in which the Vols were not victorious.

“This place means so much to me,” Guarantano said on a Zoom call with reporters. “I was thinking about my journey here and there’s no place that I would rather be, honestly. Of course there’s been ups and downs, and in life you experience many ups and downs, so it was nothing for me.

“There were some things I had to grow and learn from and I wouldn’t undo any of this, honestly. I just tell myself some things about the process, not trying to rush it, but there’s no place I would rather be. I’m lucky to be a Tennessee Vol and I wouldn’t change that for the world.”

In 2019, Guarantano completed 152 passes in 257 attempts for 2,158 passing yards, 16 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

Tennessee will kick off the 2020 campaign Sept. 26 at South Carolina.

Fall training camp: Jim Chaney discusses Tennessee’s quarterback unit

Fall training camp: Jim Chaney discusses Tennessee’s quarterback unit

KNOXVILLE — Tennessee is in its second week of fall training camp ahead of the 2020 season.

Jim Chaney enters his second season as Tennessee’s offensive coordinator. 2020 will be redshirt senior Jarrett Guarantano’s first campaign in his UT career in having the same offensive coordinator in back-to-back seasons.

KNOXVILLE, TN – AUGUST 17, 2020 – Quarterback Jarrett Guarantano #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers during 2020 Fall Camp practice on Haslam Field in Knoxville, TN. Photo By Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics

Following six practices in fall training camp, Chaney mentioned that “without any question” Guarantano has a better understanding of the offense this year.

“That’s exactly the goal of every quarterback, is to get them to execute the offense the way we want to,” Chaney said on a Zoom call with reporters Thursday. “There’s so much subjectivity that comes into the evaluation of quarterbacks; he did this, he did that, he shouldn’t have done that. We try to eliminate that and get rid of the subjectivity and we quantify as much as we possibly can on the practice field. Every ball that comes out of their hand, it’s either on target or not, the decision is either good or not, and that’s what goes into these things.

“We have a category that sometimes is not good, that when we do something really stupid with the ball, that puts our team at risk. So far to date you can see that he’s demonstrating the importance of the ball and also understanding within our concepts, those numbers continue to rise and it’s our objective way to be able to see growth and development, and I feel real comfortable that he’s doing that right now. Are we where we need to be? No, not at all, but we got to continue to work to get better. So yes, I feel very comfortable that we should see some growth and development out of that position.”

KNOXVILLE, TN – AUGUST 25, 2020 – Quarterback Jarrett Guarantano #2 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

Part of the position are backups with game experience in sophomore Brian Maurer and redshirt sophomore J.T. Shrout. The unit also consists of early enrollee freshman Harrison Bailey.

“Right now, everybody is playing football, equal reps across the board with J.T., Brian, also with Harrison,” Chaney said of the Vols’ quarterback unit behind Guarantano. “We’re giving everybody as many reps as we can. Everything is up in the air. We’re way too early to make decisions on that and coach is trying to keep us in the most competitive environments we can.

“They got to be put under the fire, we got to see how they’re going to react when things happen like that to feel comfortable with them playing. They’ll earn that two spot and that three spot and that fourth spot. Unfortunately, that’s life, somebody is going to get a little better than the other one and we’ll sort that out as the thing goes on. I feel like that’s where we’re at right now, so nothing’s cut and dry one bit. There’s competition throughout the team, but particularly at that spot.”

Jarrett Guarantano is a 2020 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award candidate

Jarrett Guarantano is a 2020 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award candidate.

Tennessee quarterback Jarrett Guarantano has been named to the 2020 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award watch list.

In 2019, the 6-foot-4, 215-pound redshirt senior completed 152 passes in 257 attempts for 2,158 passing yards, 16 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

Press release:

As with all aspects of our lives, COVID-19 has altered the sports world greatly. College football has played an integral role in the sports landscape in this country for more than 125 years, and we certainly hope that student athletes can safely return to the field this fall.

Whether college football games are played with or without fans in stadiums, we know that fans will be watching and cheering from their homes as intently as ever once games return.

As we anticipate a 2020 college football season, The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award® along with presenting sponsor A. O. Smith Corporation announce the 2020 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Watch List.

2020 Golden Arm Award Watch List Presented by A. O. Smith:

  • Jack Abraham, Southern Miss
  • Jake Bentley, Utah
  • James Blackman, Florida State
  • Ian Book, Notre Dame
  • Alan Bowman, Texas Tech
  • Myles Brennan, LSU
  • Charlie Brewer, Baylor
  • Chase Brice, Duke
  • Anthony Brown, Oregon
  • Sean Clifford, Penn State
  • Jack Coan, Wisconsin
  • K.J. Costello, Mississippi State
  • Dustin Crum, Kent State
  • Micale Cunningham, Louisville
  • Sam Ehlinger, Texas
  • Justin Fields, Ohio State
  • Feleipe Franks, Arkansas
  • Chase Garbers, California
  • Jarrett Guarantano, Tennessee
  • Donald Hammond III, Air Force
  • Sam Hartman, Wake Forest
  • Hendon Hooker, Virginia Tech
  • Josh Jackson, Maryland
  • Mac Jones, Alabama
  • D’Eriq King, Miami
  • Trevor Lawrence, Clemson
  • Levi Lewis, Louisiana
  • Adrian Martinez, Nebraska
  • Dylan McCaffery, Michigan
  • David Mills, Stanford
  • Kellen Mond, Texas A & M
  • Tanner Morgan, Minnesota
  • Jamie Newman, Georgia
  • Patrick O’Brien, Colorado State
  • Asher O’Hara, Middle Tennessee
  • Brandon Peters, Illinois
  • Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh
  • Drew Plitt, Ball State
  • Brock Purdy, Iowa State
  • Peyton Ramsey, Northwestern
  • Shawn Robinson, Missouri
  • Nick Starkel, San Jose State
  • Zac Thomas, Appalachian State
  • Skylar Thompson, Kansas State
  • Dorian Thompson-Robinson, UCLA
  • Kyle Trask, Florida
  • Zach Wilson, BYU
  • Terry Wilson, Kentucky

Jarrett Guarantano ‘absolutely’ has chance to improve during second year in same system

Jarrett Guarantano ‘absolutely’ has chance to improve during second year in same system.

KNOXVILLE – Quarterback Jarrett Guarantano enters his redshirt senior season at Tennessee in 2020.

2020 marks Guarantano’s second season playing for offensive coordinator Jim Chaney and quarterbacks coach Chris Weinke.

In 2019, the 6-foot-4, 215-pound redshirt senior completed 152 passes in 257 attempts for 2,158 passing yards, 16 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

Last month in a Zoom media conference call, third-year Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt discussed his confidence in Guarantano.

“The longer you do something, the more you do the same stuff over and over, you obviously get better at it,” Pruitt said. “Jarrett is a guy who has played a lot of really good football and has a lot of experience to draw upon.

“It is something he has worked really hard this offseason to continue to improve himself. I would think absolutely he would have a chance to improve being in his second year in the same system.”

Guarantano’s passing numbers each quarter in 2019

• First quarter: 38-62, 520 yards, 3 touchdowns, 2 interceptions

• Second quarter: 42-80, 565 yards, 5 touchdowns, 3 interceptions

• Third quarter: 37-59, 545 yards, 5 touchdowns, 2 interceptions

• Fourth quarter: 32-50, 501 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception

• Overtime: 3-6, 27 yards, 1 touchdown, 0 interceptions

Guarantano’s completions-attempts by down in 2019

• First down: 57-97

• Second down: 43-78

• Third down: 51-76

• Fourth down: 32-50