(Photo courtesy of University of Tennessee Athletics)
JARRETT GUARANTANO (QB, #2)
This 6-4, 213-pound redshirt junior leads the Vols against the Bulldog defense Saturday night after passing for 736 yards and seven touchdowns, with four interceptions, in Tennessee’s first four games. Completing 64 percent of his passes, Guarantano threw for 1,907 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2018, with just three interceptions. He passed for a career-high 328 yards and two scores in the Vols’ upset of No. 21 Auburn last year and earned several National Player of the Week honors. So the Georgia defense will need to not only get a good pass rush on Guarantano but blanket his capable receiving targets as well.
JAUAN JENNINGS (WR, #15)
And speaking of receiving targets, the 6-3, 208-pound Jennings is one of the Volunteers’ leading pass catchers. After snaring seven passes for 73 yards in the loss to Florida two weekends ago, Jennings is now tied for 16th on the Vols’ all-time reception list with 106 catches. Thus far this season, he has pulled in 19 passes for 281 yards and four touchdowns. And Georgia fans painfully remember then freshman Jennings pulling in the 43-yard Hail Mary pass at game’s end to beat the Bulldogs in 2016 at Sanford Stadium. Enough said …
(Photo courtesy of University of Tennessee Athletics)
DANIEL BITULI (ILB, #35)
Bituli, a hard-hitting 6-3, 252-pound senior linebacker, is one of the ringleaders of the Tennessee defense that will be geared to slow down both the Bulldogs’ running and passing attacks Saturday evening at Neyland Stadium. He was the Volunteers’ leading tackler in both 2017 and 2018, when he recorded 90 and 79 stops, respectively. Bituli, who already has two quarterback sacks this fall, will have to be neutralized by the Georgia O-linemen on Saturday.
NIGEL WARRIOR (SAF, #18)
Warrior, a 6-0, 190-pound senior from College Park, would love to notch a victory against his home-state team Saturday night in Knoxville. Warrior, who played at Peachtree Ridge High School, patrols the Tennessee secondary and is capable of defending both the pass and run with equal efficiency. In fact, he was second on the team in tackles to Bituli in 2018, when he totaled 64 tackles from his safety position. Like is the case with LB Bituli, the Bulldogs’ offense must account for Nigel Warrior in Georgia’s second SEC test of the season.