I can agree here. It seems to me the team is just ready to move on. I haven’t looked forward to a game since Maurer started against Georgia in 2018. JG just doesn’t get me hyped, hell ive been more hyped during the bad crompdaddy days. Of course he got better under Kiffin, but you know what I mean.
I really think the problem is Guarantano, and please understand how much I hate to say that. I wanted that kid to succeed so badly. I remember the day that he released his commitment video and where I was when I saw it. I remember being excited that another highly ranked dual threat was going to follow up Dobbs and (hopefully) continue good things.
I remember when he was caught pouting on camera his first season, and then how he really rebounded and showed resilience during the last of the Butch years when he was getting absolutely destroyed by defenses because of a crap offensive line. I gained respect for the way he took hits and just kept coming back. I respect how he played through a broken hand, because it's what we needed him to do.
I like the kid. I really wanted him to be successful and have a great UT career. And he has been a great ambassador for the school. But he has gotten more opportunities to prove himself than he ever would have gotten at any other school. And there have been times where he has looked incredible. I remember feeling so happy for him after the Auburn win in Pruitt's first season, and thinking "Okay, maybe this kid and Pruitt are going to turn it around."
But he just hasn't proven himself as a reliable, consistent quarterback at the SEC level. And ultimately, that fact just is what it is. It's not that he is a bad kid, it's quite the opposite. He is a great kid. But that alone does not an SEC quarterback make.
I am sure that for whatever reason, it has been extremely difficult on Pruitt to pull the plug on Jarrett's career at Tennessee and most likely any pro aspirations he may have had. However, his failure to do so, I fear has caused a lot of heartache, and is likely why we are in this 2-5 hole we are in. I believe that Jeremy loves and cares for his players, and desires to reward those who do well in practice, and who work hard and study film, which, by all indications, Jarrett excels at. But, the results have not shown on the field. And I'm sure for someone like Pruitt who has been around nothing but State Championship teams like Hoover High School, and then National Championship/high level teams like Alabama, Florida State, and Georgia, that doesn't compute. I'm sure he scratches his head wondering how in the world JG can do so well at practice, know the game plan and playbook so well Sunday through Friday, and then turn around and be so singlehandedly destructive on gameday. I imagine it is similar to helping your child study for a test, quizzing him daily, and the night before the test, and even the morning of the test, he knows all of the answers, and is ready, and yet, still bombs it. It just doesn't make sense to anyone.
But I really do think that once we do move on from Jarrett, be it by Pruitt's choice (which would be the right decision) or COVID keeping him for participating (not ideal or desired), or by him just moving on, we can at least start to see where we are moving forward as a program. And when you're 2-5, likely to be 3-7 (or God forbid, 2-8), with a coach who is almost certainly going to be retained, the only thing you CAN do at this point is give your fans (and recruits who are committed and watching) reason to believe that you haven't thrown the towel in, and that there is still something to believe in.
I HOPE that we will see some of that on Saturday if it is true that Bailey is starting/playing the whole game.