Tennessee quarterback Jarrett Guarantano finds himself a unique position.

The redshirt junior quarterback is playing for his four offensive coordinator and fourth quarterback coach, yet the signal caller has never been more confident in his game, and his teammates have never been more confident in him.

The former 4-star recruit, known more for this toughness than anything at this point, is the clear leader of the Vols offense now under the direction of SEC veteran Jim Chaney.

“I think we have a great relationship even though we just started 2-3 months ago,” Guarantano said of Chaney. “I think he’s a great asset to the team and I really enjoy having him around. He’s a great dude. He’s funny and he’s definitely a great coach.”

Chaney is known for his work with signal callers. He turned Jonathan Crompton into a guy who had a professional career after finally having college success as a senior. Guarantano’s numbers are better than Crompton’s were when Chaney took over coaching him, but there’s similarities are there in the fact that nothing was or has been consistent for them at the college level.

“What’s interesting to me about college football when you take a kid like Jarrett. I’m the third or fourth coordinator he has had. How hard it is for them not to get really callous and cynical about the game of football and stay fresh with it, be eager to learn and be a sponge because it’s tough sometimes. It’s not always a bed of roses. It’s kind of similar to Jonathan Crompton when we got here. There are similarities there and they are both good football players. I think Jarrett is going to have a good season. He’s playing good football right now and he’s fun to be around,” Chaney said.

Guarantano clearly likes being around Chaney and to any practice observer is more comfortable in his own skin as a fourth-year college player as key to his leadership development.

“I definitely feel more comfortable with the people around me. I think the coaching staff has definitely allowed me to be the leader that I want to be. Being able to have a bunch of leaders on the team helps. We have a lot of guys leading in their own way. It’s definitely helping.”

His teammates agree. Wide receiver Marquez Callaway sees a different quarterback this spring than he has seen in the past.

“He’s a lot more vocal. He’s really stepping up as a vocal leader,” Callaway said.

Senior receiver Jauan Jennings ackowledges that Guarantano is louder and feels it stems from the fact that this offense is clearly his show.

“He’s starting to learn he’s the voice of this offense and the voice of this team,” Jenning said. “He’s starting to communicate in a bigger way that’s going to help us this season.”

Heading into the 2019 season, the best description of Guarantano is simply that he’s tough. That’s not to say he hasn’t had good moments. He was terrific at Auburn where he had his first 300-yard game. He was good in a home win against Kentucky.

But he’s probably most noted as a quarterback who has taken a beaten and continued to get up. An idea that Guarantano feels has actually helped him improve as a leader.

“Football is a game of physical toughness and mental toughness so I definitely think that going through those kinds of things have helped me become a better leader,” Guarantano said.

With spring practice nearly over, observers say Guarantano is playing his best football to date. He’s by no means a finished product, but he’s more confident than ever. He’s also more comfortable. Comfortable with the offensive coaches, with himself and his teammates.

“We talk about it as a team, just being able to get to know one another I think that’s the best way to be a leader,” Guarantano said. “You just have to be around the guys and know what really irks them and their background. Then you kind of understand how you want to talk to them on the field and how you want to coach them up.”

In other words, knowing how to lead — a key to determining Tennessee’s offensive success this fall.