When Jarrett Guarantano committed to Tennessee on April 15, 2015, he probably had a different 5-year plan in mind.

The New Jersey native was hyped as the No. 1 dual-threat quarterback in the 2016 class. Guarantano, though, didn’t have the early success of some notable blue-chip QBs. The Volunteers have been up-and-down, to put things mildly, during Guarantano’s time in Knoxville. The fifth-year senior has endured a head coaching change, multiple offensive coordinator changes, benchings and more.

Despite everything that has happened, he reflected Friday on how “Rocky Top” will always be a special place to him.

“I’m looking at a big thing on the wall that says ‘This is Rocky Top,’ and I was talking to Bill (Tennessee associate director for football communication Martin) before — those words and just this place means so much to me,” Guarantano said during a Friday Zoom call with reporters.

“I was thinking about my journey here, and there’s no place that I would rather be, honestly. Of course there’s been ups and downs, and in life you experience many ups and downs, so it was nothing for me. There were some things that I had to grow and learn from, and I wouldn’t undo any of this, honestly. I would just kind of tell myself some things about the process, not trying to rush it, but there’s no place that I would rather be and I’m lucky to be a Tennessee Vol and I wouldn’t change that for the world.”

Perhaps finally playing in the same offensive system for two consecutive seasons will help Guarantee end his Vols career on a high note.

“I’m lucky and I’m thankful that I have the opportunity to be with my same coaches for (two years),” Guarantano said. “I’m looking forward to the progress that I’m able to make. I mean, it’s been easy going offseason. I’ve been working hard on just trying to maintain the offense, getting better with it. It’s definitely going to be a lot better just having those guys and the same terminology for another year.”

[H/T 247Sports]