KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Vols return 16 starters on offense and defense this season. Most of those starters play on the offensive side of the ball.
Quarterback Jarrett Guarantano, running backs Eric Gray and Ty Chandler and wide receiver Josh Palmer are all still with the Vols.
Jim Chaney is back as Tennessee Offensive Coordinator and expects growth out of his returning players, especially his quarterback.
The staff developed a system to quantify Guarantano's practice performance. Chaney says this eliminates the subjectivity of determining if decisions and throws are good or bad.
"So far...you can see that [Guarantano] has demonstrated the importance of the ball and also understanding within our concepts, so those numbers continue to rise," Chaney said.
The redshirt senior passed for 2,158 yards, 16 touchdowns and eight interceptions last season. He lost his starting job, as the Vols entered the thick of their conference schedule. However, he started playing a relief pitcher-like role by coming off the bench in the latter half of Tennessee's 2019 season.
Chaney admitted that Guarantano played inconsistently last season, but respects the young man for staying with the Vols and his commitment to playing.
"He wants to be at Tennessee. He's a Tennessee Vol and he wants to win football games," Chaney said.
The Tennessee offense lost a few key players from 2019. Wide receivers Jauan Jennings and Marquez Callaway are now in the NFL. Tight end Dom Wood-Anderson graduated. Those three combined for 1,872 receiving yards and 17 total touchdowns last season.
The new Vols receiving corp is led by Brandon Johnson and Josh Palmer. Palmer totaled 457 receiving yards a one touchdown in 2019.
Turning to the defense, the Vols have a few holes to fill and leadership to replace. Outside linebacker Darrell Taylor, linebacker Daniel Bituli and safety Nigel Warrior have all moved on. They were each team captains last year.
Defensive Coordinator Derrick Ansley believes that sophomore Henry To’o To’o is stepping into the leadership role that Taylor, Bituli and Warrior shared in 2019.
“He’s done a really good job of trying to take on the leadership role…that’s one thing that we’re trying to develop this camp. It’s the leadership of everybody doing things the right way all the time, on and off the field,” Ansley said.
The inside linebacker position beside To’o To’o is an open competition, according to Ansley. Quavaris Crouch, Jeremy Banks and Aaron Beasley are all competing for that spot.
The Vols want to play man-to-man defense and affect opposing quarterbacks with good pass rushing. Ansley stated that having Bryce Thompson and Alontae Taylor return as starting cornerbacks helps with executing that defensive philosophy.
The Tennessee football season starts on Sept. 26 when the Vols travel to Columbia to face the South Carolina Gamecocks.