Vols survive to reach SEC tournament semifinals

KNOXVILLE — Tennessee’s pursuit of a graduate transfer quarterback, which ended last week with the commitment of Keller Chryst, likely could have ended sooner if first-year coach Jeremy Pruitt had been willing to offer playing time guarantees.

“There’s probably other guys that would’ve liked to have came here, but I would not tell them they’d be the starting quarterback here,” Pruitt said in a Thursday interview. “That will be determined by the guys on the field.”

Chryst, who had an 11-2 record in two seasons as a part-time starter at Stanford, has signed a letter of intent to use his final year of eligibility at Tennessee with the understanding he is entering an open quarterback competition.

“Keller was excited about the chance to compete,” Pruitt said. “That’s all he wanted.”

With Chryst finishing his degree at Stanford before enrolling at Tennessee this summer, the Volunteers’ upcoming spring practices will be an opportunity for Jarrett Guarantano and Will McBride to make an early impression on the new coaching staff.

“I know one thing,” Pruitt said. “You can’t win in this league without a quarterback, and if I’m being as brutally honest as I can, I don’t know what we have at any position. I’ve played against some of the guys. So we’ve got to make sure we do have a quarterback.”

As Alabama’s defensive coordinator in 2017, Pruitt coached against Guarantano. Alabama won the game 45-7 and sacked Guarantano four times as he finished 9-of-16 passing for 44 yards with no touchdowns and one interception.

Pruitt’s defense held the Tennessee offense without a score that day, but Pruitt saw some things to like in Guarantano, who was making his first road start against the eventual national champions.

“I told Keller Chryst that the only thing I know about J.G. is he’s got arm talent, he can run and he’s tough as nails,” Pruitt said. “We beat him up pretty good last year. Will McBride, I’m not as familiar with because we didn’t play against him.”

Pruitt said he has noticed Guarantano working hard during the offseason to “try and do things the right way.” With Chryst, Pruitt sees a veteran college player from a football family — his father Geep is the Denver Broncos’ tight ends coach, while his Uncle Paul is Wisconsin’s head coach.

Pruitt did not elaborate on

which quarterback might fit best with the pro-style system of new offensive coordinator Tyson Helton, and he noted McBride and Tennessee’s walk-on quarterbacks will have the opportunity to compete for the starting job, too.

“I think the big thing about quarterback is when the possession is over with, make sure you’re kicking the football, whether it’s for an extra point or a punt,” Pruitt said. “Taking care of the ball. I don’t think it matters about athletic ability, about arm strength. I think it matters about how you can get the other 10 guys on the team to play at their highest level and play together. That’s the most important thing for a quarterback.”

Offensive line health

Pruitt confirmed Trey Smith will miss all of Tennessee’s spring practices.

“Trey’s had some personal health issues that, basically just getting some information. There’s not a whole lot of information yet. We’ll know more as the weeks go,” said Pruitt, who added that Smith has been able to continue working out.

Smith started all 12 games last year as a freshman and began emerging as a vocal leader late in the season. He was named to the Football Writers Association of America’s Freshman All-America Team.

Chance Hall, a starter in 2015 and 2016, finally underwent knee surgery this week for an injury that happened before last season, Pruitt confirmed. When asked if Hall, who is listed as a senior on the 2018 spring roster, is expected to be back in the fall, Pruitt said “Yeah, I expect to have everybody back.”

K’Rojhn Calbert, who missed his freshman season in 2017 after undergoing knee surgery, will be limited during spring practice, Pruitt said.

Jauan Jennings out, too

Wide receiver Jauan Jennings is rehabilitating from a knee injury and will not practice this spring, Pruitt said. Jennings is not listed on the spring roster, but he would participate in practices if he were healthy, Pruitt said.

Jennings, a rising senior, was kicked off the team late last season by then-interim head coach Brady Hoke with the permission of then-athletic director John Currie after he posted a profanity-laced tirade on Instagram.

Pruitt reiterated Jennings has been given “a list of things he needs to do” as he rejoins the program.

“He’s part of the team,” Pruitt said. “We’re giving him an opportunity to do what he needs to do to have success.”

As for a team-wide social media policy, Pruitt said it’s as simple as common sense.

“It goes back to don’t put out there what you don’t want nobody else to know,” he said. “You don’t need to be commenting on other guys on the team or anything going on in our program.”

Position changes

Two Vols who were offensive skill players last year will start spring practices in the defensive secondary.

Rising juniors Tyler Byrd and Carlin Fils-aime will play defensive back for the first seven practices of the spring, Pruitt said.

Fils-aime ran 31 times for 215 yards and two touchdowns in 2017 as a reserve running back. Byrd has played receiver and has 18 catches in his college career.

“We actually have several guys probably that are going to work at different spots for the first half of spring and then see where it’s at,” Pruitt said. “Then we’re going to give them an opportunity to play at another spot if we don’t feel comfortable with where they’re at.”

Rising redshirt sophomore Ja’Quain Blakely, previously a reserve defensive lineman, will begin spring practices at tight end.

Weinke’s new gig

Chris Weinke, who won the 2000 Heisman Trophy as a quarterback at Florida State, recently joined Pruitt’s staff as the running backs coach despite not playing or coaching the position previously.

“For me, a guy that’s a football coach is a football coach,” Pruitt said. “I think a running back has to look at the game through the eyes of a quarterback. What keeps all the great young running backs from playing? (Inability to provide pass ) protection. He’s got to see it the same way the quarterback sees it, because he’s going to be changing protections and things like that.”

Weinke spent the 2017 season as an offensive analyst at Alabama after he was quarterbacks coach of the St. Louis Rams in 2015 and 2016.

“It’s going to be good for our guys to have a guy like Chris that has done that and done that at the highest level to be in the room,” Pruitt said.

Contact David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidWCobb and on Facebook at facebook.com/volsupdate.