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With Tennessee now back on the open market for a quarterback the search for the Vols' 2016 signal caller starts with New Jersey native Jarrett Guarantano. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound dual-threat quarterback has been to Tennessee twice now under Butch Jones and knows Jones well because of his father. It's worth noting that the Vols continued their relationship with Guarantano even throughout Kendall's commitment. We were able to talk to some people today around his recruitment and Tennessee is certainly in the thick of things along with Ohio State and Rutgers. The connection to Rutgers is pretty obvious, his father Jim, played there (and it's where he got to know Butch) and the family lives about a half hour away. They were the first team to offer him and have made him the centerpiece of their recruiting efforts for the 2016 class for a long, long time. Ohio State has been a top contender for Guarantano for some time as well and he certainly likes the school, but there are scheduled to be six quarterbacks on campus when Guarantano arrives in 2016 so that's something to think about. Also, the Buckeyes already have Danny Clark committed in the class of 2017. But, from what we understand as well, Ohio State, along with Tennessee, provide a bigger stage to play on and that's something that interests him as well. As for the Vols, while the taking three quarterbacks last year is having to be addressed with most recruits at this stage, it hasn't seemed a big deal from those we've talked about Guarantano. Guarantano is expected at Tennessee March 22-23 after participating in the Rivals QB Challenge in Atlanta so we should get a good feel what he's thinking the day before he visits Tennessee. As of right now, all three teams seem to be in the race but Tennessee certainly has a chance to make an impact on his visit. We are hearing he'd like to do something before the summer begins.

Pfort