Dad says Guarantano eager to compete for QB
N.J. prep star takes off his redshirt, ready for season
KNOXVILLE - James Guarantano immediately sensed an emotional change in his son.
Once Tennessee’s regular season ended, Jarrett Guarantano knew his time had arrived. No more watching from the sidelines. No more waiting his turn.
The freshman quarterback was ready to begin competing for the starting role.
“No doubt there has been a bounce in his step recently more than ever before,” James Guarantano said last week. “Nothing ever changed with him as far as showing up and trying to get better every single day, but he’s just super excited for the opportunity to have a legitimate chance to compete for a starting spot.”
A four-star, dual-threat prospect from Lodi, N.J., Guarantano redshirted this season as Joshua Dobbs completed his record-setting career behind center for the Vols.
Although Guarantano realized he would likely redshirt when he committed, the daily reality was much harder to endure.
“It has been very much like a roller coaster with him with the emotions,” James Guarantano said. “But it was nothing more than these type of recruits coming in have had so much success at every level that they are never happy to be put on the shelf and sit. Even if they start off the season knowing they are not playing likely, they are still chomping at the bit.”
Tennessee’s offense will feature a host of changes once the Vols return to the field for spring practice. Along with losing Dobbs, running back Alvin Kamara and wide receiver Josh Malone, Tennessee will have a new offensive coordinator running the show.
Mike DeBord left last week to fill the same position at Indiana. Tennessee coach Butch Jones said he would be patient in making the new hire and consider candidates inside and outside of the program.
Guarantano’s father said his son was not surprised by the change.
“He understood during the recruiting process that some coaches that were there today could be gone tomorrow,” he said. “The truth be told I personally didn’t think Coach DeBo would be there with him for his whole career. I kind of saw the writing on the wall like everybody else. I am as anxious as everyone else to find out if it’s going to be an offensive coordinator coming in or just a quarterbacks coach.”
Jones said the No. 1 priority for Tennessee in making a new hire was finding a “great developer of quarterbacks” to work with Guarantano, sophomore Quinten Dormady and redshirt freshman Sheriron Jones.
Jones said Tennessee will keep the same scheme, but naming a new coordinator would give the Vols a chance to “enhance” their offensive attack.
“I think Jarrett can play in any scheme that there is. He is just super talented throwing the football and running the football. It doesn’t matter, Jarrett can fit and run whatever they decide,” James Guarantano said. “Jarrett doesn’t have any concerns about what type of offense they run. He’s fully confident and fully capable with his talent and abilities.”
James Guarantano has familiarity with another potential hire for Tennessee. Rock Gullickson is expected to join the Vols as the program’s director of strength and conditioning.
Gullickson has spent the last 16 seasons working in the NFL, including the last seven with the Los Angeles Rams.
A spokesperson for the Rams said the organization would not make a formal announcement if Gullickson decided to leave. Gullickson is still under contract until he accepts another job. Tennessee has not announced his hire.
Gullickson was the strength and conditioning coach at Rutgers from 1990-92 when James Guarantano starred at wide receiver for the Scarlet Knights. Jones was a graduate assistant on the same staff.
“If we have the opportunity to get Rock, I think it’s going to be a great hire,” said James Guarantano, a member of the Rutgers Hall of Fame who set a school record for receptions in a career. “Everything that I remember about him at that point in time was that he commanded respect. Once you walked into his weight room, you knew you had to have the effort and show up with the same attitude on the football field. I told my son he better be ready to tighten up his belt and pull his bootstraps up. Rock’s a blue-collar guy and really, really talented at his craft.”
Although his son redshirted this season, James Guarantano enjoyed interacting with Tennessee fans during the pre-game Vol Walk.
He is eager for them to get to know his son better in the next few years as he competes to take the reins behind center.
“Even though he’s a Northern boy, he really understands what football means down South. This kid is a student of the game and know everything about every aspect of it,” James Guarantano said. “He grew up in the North, but spent so much time down South with family. I promise you he doesn’t go to bed every night without thinking of winning an SEC championship.”