The Tennessee Volunteers will be without one of the program’s best backfield duos in the last few years. The past two years the Joshua Dobbs-Jalen Hurd pairing was one of the best backfield tandems in the nation.
But now the Vols must turn the page and look toward the future.
Butch Jones has played the quarterback battle close to the vest the whole offseason. It is between junior Quinten Dormady and redshirt freshman Jarrett Guarantano. Both guys bring something a little different to the quarterback position. Dormady has a huge cannon of an arm and is more comfortable in the pocket. While Guarantano is a dual threat quarterback that can make plays on the ground and through the air.
Even though Dormady has the college experience, I think Guarantano will get the nod for Week 1 against the Yellow Jackets. New offensive coordinator Larry Scott will be looking for a player that can extend plays with legs. The Vols don’t have many offensive weapons this year for any quarterback. Also Scott was the former coordinator at Miami and Guarantano reminds me a lot of Brad Kaaya, Scott’s former quarterback at Miami.
At running back, John Kelly will replace Jalen Hurd. Kelly spelled Hurd last year and averaged 6.4 yards per carry last year.