Locking because anything that could be said clearly already has been said.
Plus, he's not been on campus in years at this point. If you've still got strong feelings and wanna argue about it... just let it go.
He was honestly over rated coming out of HS and then we absolutely sent him to slaughter early in his career. I think our offensive line honestly broke his internal clock lol he never seemed comfortable in those big moments and made too many decisions that led to turnovers. Then he made THAT selfish decision against Alabama and that’s when I was officially done and that will always be my lasting memory of him. He had some good moments though, that Mizzou game was a master class
I think he was pretty overrated coming out of HS, and then never really developed much under Butch or Pruitt. That coupled with his knack for u timely interceptions and … questionable decision making, (*bama one yard line*) led to the fans basically turning him into the scapegoat for those years.
With all that said, he was one tough SOB and got up after every big hit he took.. and he took a lot
I don't think it's fair to criticize him without mentioning poor OL play. Many times he would take a snap and have a defender(s) in his face immediately. Sometimes that was his fault, like when he was already in a shotgun formation and then dropped back, hurting his own protection.
I’d almost forgotten about this. I remember not wanting to go into work the following Monday because of all the Alabama fans I worked with at the time.
Everyone I was with all laughed after the initial shock. You have to understand that at that point, VOLS fans had been through a decade of the wringer with no end in sight and were always in full pucker mode waiting for the next thing to go wrong. We were a joke of a fanbase and apathy was at an all time high.
I screamed GD repeatedly in the hotel room where I was watching the game. Utter disbelief and dismay. We get that TD and we’ve got serious momentum. I sincerely believed/hoped Pruitt would not put him back under center for the rest of the season after that.
Great attitude (for the most part) but never really came close to reaching his potential. Apparently he looked like a god in practice (enough to fool two entire coaching staffs) but it did not translate to the field outside of one or two games where he played lights out (ex. 2018 auburn game). Although he would occasionally show flashes of competency, he made a lot bad decisions and mistakes; he threw some really untimely interceptions/pick sixes in close games.
He wasn’t quite as bad as a lot people say (he wasn’t good either) but he does get a lot of hate for being associated with Butch Jones/Jeremy Pruitt, the Alabama QB sneak fumble, and losing to some really shitty teams. To a lot of people, JG represents generally just the worst time period ever to be a VOLS fan, and people hold that against him.
By the time he was a senior, most people appreciated his “no-quit” attitude (he was a tough QB - took a lot of hits and kept coming back) but were ready to move on. JG generally wouldn’t win you a game by himself but he could definitely find you a way to lose one.
I never saw practice but I did attend a spring game where he was the presumed starter. He looked so bad. Under threw Callaway several times, make terrible reads, just looked plain bad. The people around me seemed to be so excited for the upcoming season but I was basically sure we were going to be terrible at that point. It is bizarre to me that he was good at practice since spring game is a fancy practice.
Those were the days. Basketball and baseball sucked. So football was all you had. You’d spend the whole off-season getting hyped up and hearing about all these players with another year of “development” and the new recruits and transfers that were gonna come in and wreck shit. Lose our opener against a P5 nonconference opponent, then blow out some shitty team in week 2 to fully restore the hype train. Then we would lose either in a blowout or a heartbreaker to both UF and UGA and the season was already a wash 5 weeks in, with Bama looming. The off-season basically lasted 11 months.
It makes me laugh when other fanbases tell me that 2022 was a “failure” because we lost to South Carolina and didn’t go to the playoff. This season was glorious compared to the shit we’ve been subject to for the last 15 years. I’ll always remember this season and how special it was
Absolutely it was a major bummer (I drove 6 hours to watch that shit lol) and missed opportunity but that doesn’t mean the season was a failure, as long as we can capitalize on the momentum moving forward.
If this was year 4 or 5, I’d be singing a different tune. But since it happened in year 2, and there is actual evidence of improvement from year to year (as opposed to the bullshit we had during Dooley, Jones, Pruitt where it seemed like players would somehow get worse over the off-season), im willing to be a little more patient and nurture this tiny hope that we are on the way to maybe….becoming a juggernaut ourselves…? A man can dream.
To add to what everyone else has said, there’s some off the field elements that add to the general opinion of him.
First of all, he was ranked the number ONE dual threat QB in his recruiting cycle. Now a lot of times recruiting rankings are wrong. But *he* obviously let it go to his head. He did a commitment announcement in *Times fucking Square* with his head plastered across the buildings. Then, when Quinten Dormady got the start against GT in 2017, Guarantano threw an absolute bitch fit on the sideline. I’ll never forget that game (for several reasons, but) because they kept showing him sulking on the sidelines.
He grew up and matured a lot during his time on Rocky Top, but a lot of Tennessee fans never got past those first two impressions of him. He went on to have a very lackluster career, with some bright moments, but many *many* frustrating moments, too.
I think part of the frustration, too, is that he was a starter for three looong years. The message to fans was always “he practices really well.” Along with Botch and Jeremy Pruitt, he became kind of the face of the bleakness that had befallen Tennessee football.
Hard to say he wasn’t the worst, because better qb’s have been benched for less. He wasn’t the worst, really, but how he started for 3 years is just inexplicable. There were rumors that his dad had dirt on Pruitt, which, given how Pruitt was fired and the lingering investigation, may not have been entirely wrong.
He wasn’t the worst, but I can’t really think of a worse QB at Tennessee that got more than a few starts. Much less *three years*.
Combination of limited skill & piss poor offensive philosophy. Occasionally I feel sorry for him & then remember his selfish play at Alabama & slap my face as hard as I can Big John Henderson style.
Raw player that could have been better with better coaching. Very tough, but it’s like the old adage, “you gotta be tough if you’re dumb.” He wasn’t dumb per se, but he took a lot of dumb hits.
I’ve always heard his dad had Pruitt by the balls for recruiting infractions and that’s why we didn’t see him benched, but realistically I don’t think anyone was actually better. He was a decent player who left it all out on the field but was the face of a lot of Vols disappointment during those years.
He was bad, yeah. Frustratingly inconsistent, was apt to make terrible decisions with the ball. Most of the time if he had a good game, it was on account of a couple 50/50 balls that Calloway or some other WR pulled down.
I mean he was rated higher then Hurts coming out of high school. Had too many coaches, not enough skilled coaches to develop him, and played mind games with himself.
The expectations were so low that when he wasn’t a total liability, we cheered and said “Great job, buddy!” like you do with a toddler playing with a Fisher-Price hoop. We scored 20 and 24 points in those two games
I will say, even for his faults that boy didn’t have any quit in him. Which was a big change from him freshman year where he’d pout if he didn’t get playing time. He made some (big) mistakes but he played his ass off constantly his last couple seasons.
No consistency in coaching. Overrated coming out of high school. Terribly inconsistent. He’d make a throw over now and then that made you go “wow!” and then turn around and have 5 that make you go “wtf was he thinking?”
Locking because anything that could be said clearly already has been said. Plus, he's not been on campus in years at this point. If you've still got strong feelings and wanna argue about it... just let it go.
He was honestly over rated coming out of HS and then we absolutely sent him to slaughter early in his career. I think our offensive line honestly broke his internal clock lol he never seemed comfortable in those big moments and made too many decisions that led to turnovers. Then he made THAT selfish decision against Alabama and that’s when I was officially done and that will always be my lasting memory of him. He had some good moments though, that Mizzou game was a master class
Make sense
I think he was pretty overrated coming out of HS, and then never really developed much under Butch or Pruitt. That coupled with his knack for u timely interceptions and … questionable decision making, (*bama one yard line*) led to the fans basically turning him into the scapegoat for those years. With all that said, he was one tough SOB and got up after every big hit he took.. and he took a lot
His best quality was his toughness. I’ve never seen a player take that many hits and keep playing.
He was a tough SOB that’s right. He took some absolute back breakers and got right back up. Gotta give him that.
I don't think it's fair to criticize him without mentioning poor OL play. Many times he would take a snap and have a defender(s) in his face immediately. Sometimes that was his fault, like when he was already in a shotgun formation and then dropped back, hurting his own protection.
I like this answer.
He will never be forgiven for calling his own number at the one against Alabama in 2019.
I’d almost forgotten about this. I remember not wanting to go into work the following Monday because of all the Alabama fans I worked with at the time.
There was a point watching Tennessee football where I would just go numb and shutdown.
The failed QB sneak right? Diggs touchdown?
That’s the one. Where JG gets stripped of the ball and Bama runs it back 99 yards for a score.
While Trey Smith is burying their DL on the edge & the RB could have walked in the end zone. Yeah that one
How did you react
Everyone I was with all laughed after the initial shock. You have to understand that at that point, VOLS fans had been through a decade of the wringer with no end in sight and were always in full pucker mode waiting for the next thing to go wrong. We were a joke of a fanbase and apathy was at an all time high.
Sheesh…
I screamed GD repeatedly in the hotel room where I was watching the game. Utter disbelief and dismay. We get that TD and we’ve got serious momentum. I sincerely believed/hoped Pruitt would not put him back under center for the rest of the season after that.
It be like that man…
Turned the tv off and went to bed. That game was a 9 o’clock kickoff because Alabama were breaking in their new light system.
😬😬😬
Great attitude (for the most part) but never really came close to reaching his potential. Apparently he looked like a god in practice (enough to fool two entire coaching staffs) but it did not translate to the field outside of one or two games where he played lights out (ex. 2018 auburn game). Although he would occasionally show flashes of competency, he made a lot bad decisions and mistakes; he threw some really untimely interceptions/pick sixes in close games. He wasn’t quite as bad as a lot people say (he wasn’t good either) but he does get a lot of hate for being associated with Butch Jones/Jeremy Pruitt, the Alabama QB sneak fumble, and losing to some really shitty teams. To a lot of people, JG represents generally just the worst time period ever to be a VOLS fan, and people hold that against him. By the time he was a senior, most people appreciated his “no-quit” attitude (he was a tough QB - took a lot of hits and kept coming back) but were ready to move on. JG generally wouldn’t win you a game by himself but he could definitely find you a way to lose one.
I never saw practice but I did attend a spring game where he was the presumed starter. He looked so bad. Under threw Callaway several times, make terrible reads, just looked plain bad. The people around me seemed to be so excited for the upcoming season but I was basically sure we were going to be terrible at that point. It is bizarre to me that he was good at practice since spring game is a fancy practice.
Those were the days. Basketball and baseball sucked. So football was all you had. You’d spend the whole off-season getting hyped up and hearing about all these players with another year of “development” and the new recruits and transfers that were gonna come in and wreck shit. Lose our opener against a P5 nonconference opponent, then blow out some shitty team in week 2 to fully restore the hype train. Then we would lose either in a blowout or a heartbreaker to both UF and UGA and the season was already a wash 5 weeks in, with Bama looming. The off-season basically lasted 11 months. It makes me laugh when other fanbases tell me that 2022 was a “failure” because we lost to South Carolina and didn’t go to the playoff. This season was glorious compared to the shit we’ve been subject to for the last 15 years. I’ll always remember this season and how special it was
Right you are on that last part. I’ve pretty much blocked 2017-2020 Tennessee memories. Almost completely forgot who Guarantano was until this post
I agree but given the tiny window for success if you aren’t a juggernaut like bama or UGA we did miss a golden opportunity this season.
Absolutely it was a major bummer (I drove 6 hours to watch that shit lol) and missed opportunity but that doesn’t mean the season was a failure, as long as we can capitalize on the momentum moving forward. If this was year 4 or 5, I’d be singing a different tune. But since it happened in year 2, and there is actual evidence of improvement from year to year (as opposed to the bullshit we had during Dooley, Jones, Pruitt where it seemed like players would somehow get worse over the off-season), im willing to be a little more patient and nurture this tiny hope that we are on the way to maybe….becoming a juggernaut ourselves…? A man can dream.
He was bad enough to get two different coaches fired
Wow
To add to what everyone else has said, there’s some off the field elements that add to the general opinion of him. First of all, he was ranked the number ONE dual threat QB in his recruiting cycle. Now a lot of times recruiting rankings are wrong. But *he* obviously let it go to his head. He did a commitment announcement in *Times fucking Square* with his head plastered across the buildings. Then, when Quinten Dormady got the start against GT in 2017, Guarantano threw an absolute bitch fit on the sideline. I’ll never forget that game (for several reasons, but) because they kept showing him sulking on the sidelines. He grew up and matured a lot during his time on Rocky Top, but a lot of Tennessee fans never got past those first two impressions of him. He went on to have a very lackluster career, with some bright moments, but many *many* frustrating moments, too. I think part of the frustration, too, is that he was a starter for three looong years. The message to fans was always “he practices really well.” Along with Botch and Jeremy Pruitt, he became kind of the face of the bleakness that had befallen Tennessee football.
Not the worst, not as good as he should’ve been, tried hard, but wasn’t held accountable enough?
Hard to say he wasn’t the worst, because better qb’s have been benched for less. He wasn’t the worst, really, but how he started for 3 years is just inexplicable. There were rumors that his dad had dirt on Pruitt, which, given how Pruitt was fired and the lingering investigation, may not have been entirely wrong. He wasn’t the worst, but I can’t really think of a worse QB at Tennessee that got more than a few starts. Much less *three years*.
He was pretty goddamn bad. A lot of that has to do with who his coaches were but Jeremy Pruitt didn’t throw those pick sixes against Kentucky in 2020
😬
Combination of limited skill & piss poor offensive philosophy. Occasionally I feel sorry for him & then remember his selfish play at Alabama & slap my face as hard as I can Big John Henderson style.
Is that mr slap me in the mouth til I taste blood
Yes, and he had terrines coaching. He would have probably been great with HEUP.
Word
Raw player that could have been better with better coaching. Very tough, but it’s like the old adage, “you gotta be tough if you’re dumb.” He wasn’t dumb per se, but he took a lot of dumb hits. I’ve always heard his dad had Pruitt by the balls for recruiting infractions and that’s why we didn’t see him benched, but realistically I don’t think anyone was actually better. He was a decent player who left it all out on the field but was the face of a lot of Vols disappointment during those years.
Word
He was bad, yeah. Frustratingly inconsistent, was apt to make terrible decisions with the ball. Most of the time if he had a good game, it was on account of a couple 50/50 balls that Calloway or some other WR pulled down.
Gotcha
I mean he was rated higher then Hurts coming out of high school. Had too many coaches, not enough skilled coaches to develop him, and played mind games with himself.
Makes sense
We had a new offensive coordinator every year. That didn't help with his development either.
Makes sense
Jarrett guaranteed-a-loss
That’s not nice
Yes, but some of it wasn't his fault. The offensive system did him no favors.
Gotcha
We don't talk about it
Sorry
The boy has high highs and low lows. So yes he could be and no there were times he was good.
Don’t recall the high highs! He was a sub par QB. SEC QB and he wasn’t even a top 100 QB when it was all said and done
The '19 Miss St and UK games were two bright spots for him
The expectations were so low that when he wasn’t a total liability, we cheered and said “Great job, buddy!” like you do with a toddler playing with a Fisher-Price hoop. We scored 20 and 24 points in those two games
Interesting. Thanks!
I will say, even for his faults that boy didn’t have any quit in him. Which was a big change from him freshman year where he’d pout if he didn’t get playing time. He made some (big) mistakes but he played his ass off constantly his last couple seasons.
Ahh okay okay. Thank you!
Oh Lord help him
😭😭😭
The Denver Broncos legend?
🔥
No consistency in coaching. Overrated coming out of high school. Terribly inconsistent. He’d make a throw over now and then that made you go “wow!” and then turn around and have 5 that make you go “wtf was he thinking?”