Tennessee Football: The quarterback situation isn’t as complicated as it seems

The Tennessee Football program has a decision to make when it comes to the quarterback position, and it’s not as complicated as you might think.

It seems like Jarrett Guarantano is officially out as Tennessee football’s quarterback. At least that’s what common sense would tell you after two abysmal performances. Jeremy Pruitt‘s decision-making could make this decision more complicated than it needs to be, but it’s not that hard of a decision.

Pruitt has to pick between Guarantano, JT Shrout, and Harrison Bailey. You could throw Brian Maurer into that mix, but he’s the only quarterback that didn’t get playing time against Kentucky, so that could either push him to the top, or it could mean he’s at the bottom of the depth chart and not climbing up.

If it comes down to deciding between Shrout, Maurer, and Bailey, then the decision could be a difficult one, but the easy decision would be to go with the young guy.

True freshman Harrison Bailey seems like the best long-term decision here. Tennessee fans know that he’s the quarterback of the future, so why not let him get a head start on his Tennessee career.

Will he be great and lead Tennessee to win out the season after the Alabama game? Maybe not, but he has the potential to be the Vols next great quarterback. On the other hand, if he does, then Pruitt would look like a somewhat competent coach when it comes to the offense after butchering his decision-making so far.

Bailey also offers hope to the Tennessee fan base of a better future. I think the decision should come down to Maurer or Bailey. Maurer offers the most experience of the three backup quarterbacks, and Bailey is the young gun that might be able to have enough energy to get the Vols back on track.

I think Bailey is the best quarterback on the roster and I’d rather go through the rest of the season struggling with a freshman quarterback than do the same with a fifth-year senior or even a sophomore with similar experience.

Pruitt was given an extension earlier this year to make these decisions, and he’s paid to make the right decision. Let’s hope he makes the right decision, or else it could cause trouble for the Vols for longer than just this year.