When a program takes a graduate transfer quarterback with only one year of eligibility remaining, it’s pretty clear that confidence is lacking in terms of the quarterbacks already on the roster. Keller Chryst is coming to Knoxville with the intention of seizing the starting quarterback role for the Vols, but he’ll have to beat out Jarrett Guarantano and Will McBride in order to do so.

Jeremy Pruitt and his coaching staff may not have known much about their QBs, or roster overall, upon taking over in Knoxville but one thing that has become clear to them that veteran leadership is something the program needs help with heading into the summer.

That element is something Pruitt appears to be most interested in from Chryst. During the Atlanta stop of Tennessee’s Big Orange Caravan, Pruitt was asked what the Stanford graduate transfer brings to Tennessee. Without even mentioning his ability to play on the field, Pruitt talked about the experience Chryst brings to the program.

“I think in everything you do, you probably get better at it the longer you do it,” Pruitt said. “Based off his age, his experience — he has some wisdom. So, that will probably help him in preparation. I think it will be good for our football team because we have a young football team. We only have nine seniors, I think some of these guys with experience can help the younger guys.”

Those comments echo what Pruitt had to say at a previous stop on the Big Orange Caravan. During the Nashville event, Pruitt spoke on the need to develop and grow leadership this summer.

“We are going to try to foster leadership on our team, and that takes time,” Tennessee’s coach said in Nashville. “It takes guys probably earning respect from their teammates. To be a leader, one of two things are going to happen — people are going to follow you or they are not — so sometimes it’s tough to be in that situation.”

Pruitt was then asked how important is it for QB to be a leader? Without specifically answering that, Pruitt noted that it’s important for all of his players.

“To me, sometimes the part about leadership maybe people put more into it… We will have to figure out, and that’s something we have to do as coaches,” Pruitt continued. “We have to understand, do we have guys that can handle that? Are they built that way or do we have to step in and provide that leadership for them?”

Those comments don’t seem to suggest Chryst has an advantage over Guarantano heading into the summer, if anything, it may be the other way around following Guarantano’s participation in spring practice, but it’s clear that Pruitt still sees his team as a work in progress in more ways than one. If the Vols are in for a tough year, as many are predicting, having a true leader under center could be the difference between finishing strong and earning a potential bowl bid or folding down the stretch.

Unfortunately for Tennessee fans, the latter is something they’ve seen in recent seasons from the program on Rocky Top.