Fans, media members weigh in on Jeremy Pruitt grabbing Jarrett Guarantano’s facemask

Late in Saturday night’s game between No. 1 Alabama and Tennessee, the Vols had the ball near the Tide goal line. QB Jarrett Guarantano ran a sneak, but fumbled the ball and watched as it was returned 100 yards for a score by Trevon Diggs.

Naturally, Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt wasn’t happy with his quarterback after the play. On the sideline, he could be seen grabbing JG’s facemask while yelling at him.

Take a look at the facemask pull below:

Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt chews out Jarrett Guarantano and pulls his facemask after goal-line fumble pic.twitter.com/xQBiPvq0is

— Gifdsports (@gifdsports) October 20, 2019

Fans and media members were quick to react to the incident on social media. Here were some of the reactions, from both sides:

It’s alarming the number of you out there who think it’s OK for a coach to put his hands on a player’s facemask. Get a clue.

— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) October 20, 2019

https://twitter.com/ChristFamlee/status/1185769607447093249

Just catching up on this Jeremy Pruitt/face mask situation from last night & it’s funny seeing ppl who disagreed w/ Pruitt’s actions being called ‘soft’ & ‘snowflakes’ lol….everybody is a tough guy nowadays I see

— Damien Woody (@damienwoody) October 20, 2019

Pruitt could have suplexed JG and I wouldn’t have cared. Facemask tug (and “tug” may be too strong of a word) is a less-than-zero issue, IMO.

— Houston Kress (@VolRumorMill) October 20, 2019

I always thought Pruitt was a pretty good choice at Tennessee. But don’t undress your QB verbally and then grab him by the facemask. That was bad.

— Frank Frangie (@Frank_Frangie) October 20, 2019

I don’t remember all the outrage for when Jimbo Fisher actually grabbed his players entire face mask last year…

But non-UT fans aren’t okay with Pruitt using just one finger to pull JGs face mask a little.

It’s called passion people. Happens in basketball all the time. pic.twitter.com/4zvAIt4ciW

— Rocky Top Sports Nation (@RT_SportsNation) October 20, 2019

If Guarantano free-lanced the QB sneak, I don't blame Pruitt for being steamed at him and benching him. Still needs to keep his hands off his facemask.

— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) October 20, 2019

If my son played for Jeremy Pruitt @Vol_Football I’d take him out of school and send him to any private liberal arts school without football pronto! You deserve to lose when you grab a “kids” face mask when you don’t get you’re way! #theyarekids

— Christi Gilligan (@gillsgolf) October 20, 2019

I literally blows my mind that people are calling out Pruitt for grabbing JG's facemask. How many of these people played the game? Been in a pile? Spent those 90+ degree days on the practice field with your brothers? Nah. If JG went rogue he violated everyone's trust.#BAMAvsTENN

— Nooga Cowboy (Podunk Papi) (@sportscowboy) October 20, 2019

https://twitter.com/EzraAdams/status/1185770992154677248

The whole “it happened to me, so it’s OK for it to happen to others” is a tired argument. However, it’s clear there is plenty of people on both sides of the Pruitt-Guarantano situation.

Adam Spencer

Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.