Randy Smith
Even though the quarterback situation at Tennessee is still a bit unsettled after spring practice, it's unsettled in a "good" way. Junior Quinten Dormady and redshirt freshman Jarrett Guarantano will enter pre-season camp this summer after impressive performances in
Saturday's rain-shortened Orange and White game in Knoxville.
Dormady was a perfect 10-10 in passing for 120 yards and a couple of touchdowns, while Guarantano was 4-5 for 41 yards. Eleven different receivers caught passes from Tennessee quarterbacks, which could be an indication that the Vols receivers are better than we thought.
Performances in a spring football game are no indication at all about how players will do under fire when the regular season starts. Quarterbacks are protected from punishing blows like the ones they will get when they line up against Georgia Tech in Atlanta on Labor Day evening. Saturday's Orange and White game was more than just a little vanilla....it was a very rich French vanilla to say the least.
Head coach Butch Jones' seat may be the hottest in the SEC, and among the hottest in college football. But he shouldn't be judged either way on one half of a spring football game. Neither should the two quarterbacks who are battling for the job to replace the very popular Joshua Dobbs be judged as well. While Jones may have already decided on a new starting quarterback, he's not saying and may not say at all until after the 2017 season begins. One thing we can all count on right now is both Dormady and Guarantano will see action against the Yellow Jackets on opening night.
Both quarterbacks possess different styles of play. Dormady is more of a drop-back passer while Guarantano has more of a Josh Dobbs style; he can make plays with his legs as well. While the trend in college football today is gearing more towards Guarantano's style, Dormady is two years older and saw some action last year as Dobbs' back-up, though it was more of a mop-up role than back-up. Though coaches may predict certain plays that the Vols will run in certain situations this fall, they will all need to pay attention to how the quarterbacks run them.
One thing we haven't really heard much about is the strength of the Vols' offensive line this year. It's a veteran group with size and plenty of ability and, while the Big Orange lost a couple of outstanding running backs last year, the running game should be pretty good with John Kelly leading the way.
So we're still 128 days away from the beginning of the 2017 season and, while some Tennessee fans are optimistic about the Vols' chances this season, there is still a huge question mark hanging over Coach Butch Jones and his staff. And that question mark will remain in place for a while. I don't believe that 9-4 for a third straight year will be enough to answer that big question.
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Randy Smith has been covering sports on radio, television and print for the past 45 years. After leaving WRCB-TV in 2009, he has written two books, and has continued to free-lance as a play-by-play announcer. His career has included a 17-year stretch as host of the Kickoff Call In Show on the University of Tennessee’s prestigious Vol Network. He has been a member of the Vol Network staff for 30 years. He has done play-by-play on ESPN, ESPN II, CSS, and Fox SportSouth, totaling more than 500 games, and served as a well-known sports anchor on Chattanooga television for more than a quarter-century. In 2003, he became the first television broadcaster to be inducted into the Greater Chattanooga Area Sports Hall of Fame. Randy and his wife Shelia reside in Hixson. They have two married children, Christi and Chris Perry; Davey and Alison Smith. They have five grandchildren, Coleman, Boone, Mattingly, DellaMae, and CoraLee.