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Tennessee's pair of signal-callers express openness to 2-QB system

The last time Quinten Dormady shared snaps with another quarterback he was playing pee wee football in Texas.

Jarrett Guarantano has never been in a two-quarterback system.

Well, the times, they are a changin'.

Tennessee’s two talented signal-callers are likely to play in a platoon system when the Vols open their 2017 season against Georgia Tech on Sept. 4. After two days of training camp, the Vols are no closer to naming a starter and Tennessee’s coaches — from CEO Butch Jones to offensive coordinator Larry Scott to quarterbacks whisper Mike Canales — have all openly endorsed the idea of playing both quarterbacks to start the season.

“The bottom line is we want to win a championship. If it takes two, it takes two,” Canales said Sunday.

"Obviously, they want to compete and be the starting quarterback for the remainder of the season, but they understand we’re going to do what’s best for the team and if that’s playing two, we’ll play two. The bottom line is everyone in that room has got to be ready to play from Quinten Dormady or Guarantano or Will McBride. They’re one snap away from being the guy.”

Thus far, the two quarterbacks are toeing the company line, eagerly expressing an openness to sharing the spotlight. Guarantano, a 6-foot-4, 200-pound rifle-armed redshirt freshman, admitted that “there’s nothing that I want more than being the starting quarterback at Tennessee,” before adding, “I’m willing to do whatever happens. Whatever helps the team win.”

Dormady echoed a similar sentiment, saying, “We’re just here to win a championship. Whatever that looks like, whatever we’ve got to do that.

“I think as an overall team, an offensive unit, that people are willing to do that. So whatever happens, we’ll go with it and do our best to try and get us back to the top.”

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How Tennessee might utilize both quarterbacks likely won’t be revealed until the opener. One will be named the “starter,” while the other will see snaps as a second-banana. The hope is that one guy then grabs ahold of the job once the true bullets are flying.

Dormady exited spring practice in pole position for the No. 1 spot, but Jones has continued to stress that he has no timetable on naming a starter and that if both gunslingers “earn the right to play” then they will.

Despite his seniority, playbook knowledge and brief game experience, Tennessee’s 6-foot-4, 222-pound junior doesn’t feel like he is the competition’s clubhouse leader.

“I don’t really look at it like that,” Dormady said. “Obviously, it’s an open competition. Everybody here knows that. We know that. Like I’ve said all spring, it’s just going out and competing everyday, working on the little details and the fundamentals and just improve my game.”

Dormady displayed significant growth in the spring, especially with his footwork and leadership. He went a perfect 10-of-10 for 120 yards and two touchdowns in the rained-shortened spring game, and has continued his measured approach throughout the summer and early in camp. Meanwhile, Guarantano has worked hard this offseason to improve his mental makeup and pocket awareness. His tantalizing skill-set as a duel-threat quarterback is one of the primary reasons Tennessee is open to playing two quarterbacks.

Eventually, though, the staff will have to pick a guy, with Dormady aptly noting, "Like I’ve said, things are going to fall into place.”

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