Pruitt says Maurer’s status uncertain after concussion
Tennessee quarterback Brian Maurer's status is uncertain for Saturday's game against South Carolina, coach Jeremy Pruitt said Monday.
Maurer suffered a concussion for the second straight week, exiting in the first quarter of a 35-13 loss to Alabama.
“I trust our medical staff," Pruitt said. "They're the ones that makes the decisions on things like that. I meet with the players – all of our players – lots throughout the week, but it's never about any kind of medical condition. I trust our (medical) staff. Right now, they're still trying to determine where he's at.”
Pruitt added that "we'll know in the next couple of days" whether Maurer will be available to play against the Gamecocks.
Backup Jarrett Guarantano was ineffective in relief of Maurer against Alabama after excelling off the bench in the previous week's 20-10 victory against Mississippi State. Tennessee's other option is J.T. Shrout.
Pruitt said he hasn't determined whether he'd turn to Guarantano or Shrout if Maurer is unavailable. Shrout, a redshirt freshman, has 10 career pass attempts.
“We'll see how the week goes," Pruitt said.
What is South Carolina's quarterback situation?
Tennessee (2-5, 1-3 SEC) faces the quarterback uncertainty in a game critical to its bowl hopes. None of the Vols' remaining five opponents is ranked.
South Carolina's Will Muschamp is 7-0 as a head coach against Tennessee. His Gamecocks (3-4, 2-3) are looking to bounce back after a 38-27 loss to Florida.
South Carolina turned to freshman quarterback Ryan Hilinski after Jake Bentley suffered a season-ending injury in the opener.
Hilinski exited the Gamecocks' 20-17 double-overtime victory against Georgia on Oct. 12 with a leg injury, but he returned to start against Florida.
Does Jeremy Pruitt remain confident in Jarrett Guarantano?
Guarantano has 22 career starts, including 18 in a row, before being benched in favor of Maurer after the season's fourth game.
Guarantano has replaced Maurer off the bench in each of the freshman's three starts Maurer exited because of injury each time.
Guarantano helped lead Tennessee on a 14-play, 66-yard drive that reached Alabama's 1-yard line with the Vols trailing 28-13 in the fourth quarter. He made a pair of third-down completions to extend the drive.
Then he made a critical blunder. On fourth-and-1, the Vols appeared to have a handoff called to Quavaris Crouch. Instead, Guarantano improvised and tried to score on a quarterback sneak.
He was stuffed short of the goal line and fumbled; Alabama's Trevon Diggs scored on a 100-yard return to seal the victory. The offensive line blocked for the handoff that they expected, not a sneak.
“That was one play," Pruitt said. "Unfortunately, it was an important play, but we're moving on now.”
Pruitt gave Guarantano a tongue lashing when he came to the sideline. At one point, he briefly grabbed and pulled on Guarantano's facemask.
“Me and him have a relationship," Pruitt said.
"I'm going to coach him hard. I'm going to coach all the players hard. But he's a guy that I believe in, and I still do. I haven't wavered in that.”
Shrout replaced Guarantano after that fumble.
“I've said many times before that I believe in him," Pruitt said of Guarantano.
"I think he has what it takes. But I do think that he needs to be more consistent, with the right intangibles, so he can play at a little higher level. He knows that. We talked (Sunday). You look at that game, there's like three or four times in the game, you talk about a guy standing in the pocket and making some throws, he done a really nice job.”