A day of atonement for Guarantano, members of maligned 2016, 2017 classes
Nigel Warrior was filled with so many emotions Saturday that following Tennessee’s 20-10 upset over Mississippi State the senior safety jumped into the Neyland Stadium student section and celebrated with the crowd.
“I had to,” Warrior said afterwards.
Senior middle linebacker Daniel Bituli regretted not joining in the celebration.
“You should have,” Warrior told Bituli.
“It felt so good. I had to show my love back to the fans.”
For the first time in a while, Warrior could finally exhale postgame and smile. Tennessee walked away with a fulfilling win Saturday, especially for a group of much-maligned veterans who have shouldered much of the blame for the struggles of the last several years. It’s too premature to say if Saturday is the start of the Jarrett Guarantano redemption tour or if Tyler Byrd will suddenly become a real factor in the wideout rotation, but for one afternoon, many faces from the scorned 2016 and 2017 classes had their day of atonement.
To whit:
— Guarantano, relegated to the bench following a four-game sample of spotty play, came on in relief to go 6 of 7 for 106 yards and the hammer touchdown to Byrd. Jeremy Pruitt noted they didn’t ask “him to do much,” and yet, the head coach also noted that “I said it the last time we were in here that he would help us win a game this year. He’ll help us win some more.” Guarantano looked like the “sixth-man shooter” Pruitt dubbed him a week ago, coming in cold and making strong decisions and a crucial third-down throw to Tim Jordan.
— Jordan and Byrd have both been forgotten men during their time at Tennessee, but against the Bulldogs, they proved to be Tennessee’s two most useful weapons. Jordan churned his way to 65 yards, including a great jump-cut for a 15-yard touchdown. Byrd had one reception in his last 20 career games but hauled in three passes for 56 yards and the game-sealing score where he was mobbed on the sidelines by teammates afterwards.
“Things don’t go your way all the time,” Byrd said after waiting so long for his career-performance. “I just had to keep fighting.”
— Matthew Butler, Latrell Bumphus and Kivon Bennett were part of a Tennessee defensive line that completely stymied one of the best tailbacks in the SEC, holding Kylin Hill to just 13 yards. All three guys recorded a tackle for loss. All three guys were in on multiple tackles.
“I think our guys played gap sound,” Pruitt said. "We struck blockers, changed the line of scrimmage a little bit. Wrapped up in tackling, gang-tackled. And made some plays in space. Going into the game we felt like we needed to make their quarterbacks beat us, not let this guy (Hill) beat us. That’s kind of what we tried to do there and our kids did a nice job executing the game plan.”
— And finally, Nigel Warrior. Yes, Tennessee’s senior safety has been a fixture in the starting lineup the last few seasons, but to date, Warrior’s career has mostly left Vol fans wondering if he has the same DNA as his dad. In the last two weeks, Warrior has finally shown that dynamic ability. He was constantly around the ball Saturday, coming up to the with an interception and two more pass breakups.
"We played like boys in the backyard," Warrior said.
Others from the 2016 and 2017 classes contributed to victory, too, including kicker Brent Cimaglia, tight end Austin Pope, reserve offensive lineman Ryan Johnson, nickel-back Shawn Shamburger, and of course, Trey Smith, who helped move the pile on the drive that sealed the game.
So yeah they celebrated loudly. The jumped into the stands. For a group of guys who are scarred by too many losses, they fought past that adversity, and then some more against Mississippi State, to win an important game for Pruitt's program.
Perhaps Saturday is just a one-off. A sudden respite. Maybe many of those same guys won’t be heard from again the rest of the season, but for one beautifully ugly afternoon in Knoxville, Tennessee won a SEC football game largely on the backs of players who many had written off.