FOOTBALL

Tennessee's Jarrett Guarantano spending spring break with QB guru

Rhiannon Potkey
USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee

Like many college students, Jarrett Guarantano will be spending part of his spring break at the beach.

Unlike many college students, the University of Tennessee redshirt freshman quarterback won’t be lounging in the sand. He’ll be training with well-known quarterback coach George Whitfield in San Diego.

Tennessee quarterback Jarrett Guarantano  warms up before the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl on Dec. 30, 2016,  at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.

Guarantano is among a group of college quarterbacks spending this week with Whitfield to improve their skills and efficiency.

UT opens spring practice next Tuesday, and Guarantano will be contending for the starting spot left open by the graduation of Joshua Dobbs.

“He doesn’t talk about having that spot. He just says he knows he has to go to work,” Whitfield said. “For a kid that has grown up with a lot of self-confidence, he has been very humble about what is coming around the corner. It’s good to hear he is taking that ground-level approach to this shuffle.”

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Under Whitfield’s watchful eye, Guarantano will be training with Notre Dame’s Brandon Wimbush, TCU’s Kenny Hill, Indiana’s Richard Lagow and Wyoming’s Josh Allen.

On the field, they will work on fundamentals and footwork. In the classroom, they will study film of their individual throwing sessions.

The group will make trips to the beach to use the sand as an unstable surface and wade into water above the knees to build strength and balance on drop backs. A third of their throws during the week will be with a tennis ball to avoid arm fatigue.

Whitfield plans to have daily guest speakers, including retired NFL coordinators.

“Even if the change here is incremental, there has been some success,” Whitfield said. “If you can shave off theoretically a tenth of a second of drop so the ball arrives a tenth of a second downfield sooner, that is a win.”

Quarterbacks coach George Whitfield has trained several successful college and NFL quarterbacks in his hometown of San Diego.

Whitfield first met Guarantano during the Nike Elite 11 competition in 2015 and was instantly impressed with Guarantano’s abilities.

“They are all young and gangly, but he could drive the ball and he could command the ball,” said Whitfield, a contributor for ESPN's "College GameDay." “He is one of those guys who is blessed with tools, but also has enough savvy to time up when their weapons should launch. I remember seeing Jarrett and thinking ‘Oh my goodness.’”

After having a chance to interact with Guarantano one-on-one, Whitfield was taken by the New Jersey native’s moxie.

“He had an air about him that bordered right against cockiness, which if walked the right way and attacked the right way you respect it,” Whitfield said. “That’s no different than a lot of the big kids I have seen over the last couple of years. He just carried himself like he just hit a couple of home runs.”

Rather than growing insecure being around other quarterbacks used to being the “big man on campus,” Whitfield said Guarantano embraced the challenge.

“Jarrett couldn’t be more comfortable in the shark tank,” Whitfield said. “Some guys don’t feel comfortable in that environment and others relish it. They’ve been waiting to see everyone and measure themselves. Jarrett couldn’t wait to get there. He had already studied everybody else and knew their backgrounds.”

Whitfield received more feedback about Guarantano when visiting college coaches who were recruiting the Under Armour All-American.

“I really got a good gauge of the type of player he is by who else was clamoring to get him. I remember Tom Herman felt highly about him when he was still at Ohio State and how many other SEC coordinators loved him,” Whitfield said. “He started getting a lot of buzz all the way out West, which means there is a lot of credibility to it when different coaches in different regions think this guy could drive them through tough schedules.”

Along with training the college quarterbacks, Whitfield has been preparing quarterbacks for the upcoming NFL draft and preparing Heisman winner and former Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel for an attempted NFL comeback.

“I will be working with Johnny before or after the college guys and may invite him to stick around to watch or have them go watch him,” Whitfield said. “Some other guys may come back like Connor Cook or you could even see Jameis Winston here.”

Guarantano is the third Tennessee quarterback Whitfield has tutored. Dobbs and Justin Worley trained with him in San Diego in 2014.

Former Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs trained with George Whitfield in San Diego in 2014.

Before Guarantano flew to Southern California, Whitfield spoke with UT head coach Butch Jones and new quarterbacks coach Mike Canales about this week’s process.

“There are staffs like Coach Jones and his coaches who believe in you enough that they suggest guys come here when they have down time. I think the SEC is the most aggressive with that,” Whitfield said. “Because of that relationship, I know what Coach Jones and Coach Canales are expecting out of their quarterbacks just in terms of footwork and set up and efficiency.”

Although spring break only provides a brief window to work together, Whitfield believes Guarantano can return to UT more prepared to compete for the starting role in spring practice and beyond.

“I know how much he wants to be here and be able to contribute out of the gate at Tennessee because he knows what kind of expectations that program has,” Whitfield said. “He knows what the goals are and his main focus is getting himself ready to do what he needs to get done to help achieve them.”

Rhiannon Potkey covers Tennessee football. Follow her on Twitter @TennesseeBeat.