By Jimmy Hyams
Former Stanford quarterback Keller Chryst, a grad transfer who committed to Tennessee last week, has signed a financial aid agreement with the Vols.
Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt confirmed the signing Monday.
Chryst, whose uncle is the head coach at Wisconsin, went 11-2 over two seasons as a starter at Stanford.
“He has experience,’’ Pruitt said, when asked what he liked about Chryst. “He comes from a football family. Has good maturity. He’s 11-2 as a starter.’’
Pruitt said he appreciated the attitude of the 6-foot-5, 235-pound Chryst when he visited UT.
“There’s probably other guys that would like to have come here,’’ Pruitt said, “but I would not tell them they would be the starting quarterback. That would be determined on the field.
“Keller was just excited about a chance to compete. That’s all he wanted.’’
Chryst will compete against redshirt sophomore Jarrett Guarantano, who made six starts last year, and true sophomore Will McBride, who made one start. Guarantano threw for 997 yards and four touchdowns against two interceptions. He completed 61.7 percent of his passes in nine games.
What does Pruitt like about Guarantano?
“I tell you what,’’ Pruitt said, “the kid is tough. He has arm talent. He has good athletic ability. I’ve seen him work hard in the offseason and try to do things the right way.
“He wants to be the best player he can possibly be … he wants to be coachable. … I see him in there watching a lot of tape.’’
What did Pruitt tell Chryst about Guarantano?
“The only thing I know about J-G is he’s got arm talent, he can run and is tough as nails.’’
As Alabama’s defensive coordinator last year, Pruitt recalled “we beat him up pretty good last year’’ and he kept competing.
How does Pruitt assess his quarterback position?
“You can’t win in this league without a quarterback,’’ Pruitt said. “And I’ve been as brutally honest as I can. I don’t know what we have at that position.’’
Pruitt didn’t say if he prefers a dual-threat quarterback to a drop-back passer.
“I think the big thing about quarterback is when the possession is over with, make sure you’re kicking the football, whether it’s for extra point or a punt,’’ Pruitt said. “I don’t think it matters about athletic ability or arm strength. I think it matters about how you can get the other 10 guys on the team to play at the highest level and to play as a team. I think that’s the most important thing with a quarterback.’’
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