Mediocracy: Thy Name Is the Tennessee Volunteers

From the coach to the quarterback, does anyone know what they’re doing?

Four years ago “What will the legacy of Josh Dobbs as Tennessee Volunteers’ quarterback be?” was a popular topic for Knoxville sports talk radio hosts.

The same can be asked now for Jarrett Guarantano.

And the answer is simple. He’s the last tentacle of the Butch Jones era at Tennessee.

And like Jones, a once-promising career will be remembered for its mediocracy.

It’s important to note that Guarantano came to Tennessee because of Jones. The former Tennessee head coach had coached Guarantano’s father a generation before when Jones was a graduate assistant at Rutgers and the elder Guarantano was the Scarlet Knights’ best receiver, even playing briefly in the pros.

And for all the always-ultimately-meaningless recruiting rankings that listed Guarantano as one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the country upon his signing, ultimately it was that tie-in that brought him from Niew Jersey to Knoxville.

It wasn’t hard to figure out why Guarantano became the starting quarterback in 2017. The Volunteers weren’t going anywhere and Jones’ job was on…