One of the least surprising signal-calling announcements heading into Week 7 has officially been made.
Starting in place of two-year starter Jarrett Guarantano, Brian Maurer was more than respectable in a Week 6 loss to No. 3 Georgia. While Jeremy Pruitt declined to name a starter in the days after the Vols’ fourth loss in five games to start the 2019 season, it was assumed that the true freshman Maurer would get yet another crack at it this weekend.
Wednesday night, Pruitt confirmed the assumption with a “well, duh” announcement.
“Well, I mean, Brian will be the starting quarterback Saturday,” the head coach stated. “I mean, I think everybody would know that, right?”
In the loss to the Bulldogs, Maurer, making his first career start, completed 50 percent of his 28 passes for 259 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Mauer was a three-star 2019 signee who was rated as the No. 19 pro-style quarterback in the country.
Prior to his benching last week, Guarantano had started the last 18 games in a row for the Volunteers. His 141.9 passer rating is currently sixth among SEC quarterbacks and 58th nationally, one spot behind Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence.