Guarantano grew upLodi, New Jersey, and attendedBergen Catholic where he played football.[1][2] His fatherJames Guarantano was awide receiver atRutgers from 1989 to 1992 and joined later the Rutgers Hall of Fame and later played in the NFL and CFL.[3][4] Guarantano threw for 3,028 yards and 28 touchdowns and rushed for 523 yards and 12 touchdowns in his prep career.[5] He earned All-Bergen County First-team honors and was a2016 Under Armour All-America.[6] He was a four-star recruit coming out of high school and top 4 dual-threat quarterback in the nation.[7] He committed toTennessee over more than 40 scholarship offers from other programs.[4][8]
Guarantano started the 2017 season as the backup toQuinten Dormady.[10] In the early part of the season, he appeared in relief roles. He threw his first collegiate touchdown to Jeff George in Tennessee's 42–7 victory overIndiana State in the second game.[11] Following a 41–0 loss toGeorgia, which was Tennessee's worst home loss since 1905, Guarantano was named the starter for the next game againstSouth Carolina.[12][13] The remainder of the season was a struggle for the Volunteers program with only one victory overSouthern Miss. Tennessee finished 4–8. The program lost eight games for the time in program history to go along with a winless record in conference play.[14][15] Tennessee's performance in the 2017 season resulted in the firing of head coachButch Jones.[16] He finished his second year with 997 passing yards and four touchdowns with a completion percentage of 62.0 when starting in six games and appeared in nine contests.[17]
Guarantano remained the starter going into the 2018 season under new head coachJeremy Pruitt.[18][19] After a 2–3 start, Guarantano played his most complete game in 30–24 upset victory at #21Auburn.[20] He passed for 328 yards and two touchdowns against the Tigers.[21] Tennessee had two shots at bowl eligibility late in the 2018 season but dropped both games againstMissouri andVanderbilt to finish 5–7.[22] As a sophomore he started all 12 games and passed for 1,907 yards and 12 touchdowns with three interceptions (the lowest sinceCondredge Holloway in 1972).[23] He broke the school record for consecutive pass attempts without an interception by tossing 166 straight passes without a pick, breaking the old mark of 143 set byCasey Clausen in 2003.[24]
The 2019 season started disastrous for the Tennessee Volunteers. Tennessee dropped the season opener toGeorgia State 38–30. The loss marked the first for Tennessee to a Group of 5 school since 2008.[25] Guarantano passed for 311 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception in the loss.[26] In the following game, he passed for 176 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception in a 29–26 2OT home loss toBYU.[27] The Vols started 0–2 for the first time since 1988.[28] Tennessee dropped two of their next three games, losses to top-ten teamsFlorida andGeorgia, to drop to 1–4.[29][30] Guarantano was benched prior to the Georgia game for Brian Maurer.[31] In the following game, againstMississippi State, Maurer was injured and Guarantano came into the game in relief.[32] He threw a late touchdown to Tyler Byrd to give the Volunteers a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter to help clinch the 20–10 victory.[33] In the following game at #1Alabama, Tennessee had driven to the Alabama goalline trailing 28–13 in the fourth quarter. Guarantano went against the play call and tried a quarterback sneak and fumbled resulting in aTrevon Diggs 100-yard fumble return for a touchdown.[34][35] In the next game, he bounced back with a solid 229-yard, two-touchdown game againstSouth Carolina in a 41–21 victory.[36] He broke his non-throwing wrist against South Carolina but never missed a game.[37] Following victories overAUB andKentucky, Guarantano passed for 415 yards and two touchdowns in a 24–20 victory overMissouri to clinch bowl eligibility for Tennessee.[38] Following a victory overVanderbilt, Tennessee finished with a 7–5 record and earned an appearance in theGator Bowl againstIndiana.[39] Guarantano passed for 221 yards and two interceptions as Tennessee won 23–22 in a comeback victory.[40] As a junior, he threw for 2,158 yards and 16 touchdowns while starting seven games and playing in all 13.[41] Tennessee's momentum helped earn them a preseason #25 ranking for the 2020 season.[42]
Tennessee moved up to a #16 ranking before their 2020 regular season opener.[42] Guarantano was named the starter for the opener againstSouth Carolina.[43] Guarantano helped lead Tennessee to a 2–0 start before a 44–21 loss to #3Georgia Bulldogs sent the season spiraling.[44] The following game against #23Kentucky saw Guarantano throw consecutive pick-sixes to set the tone of the 34–7 defeat. The 27-point loss marked the worst defeat in the series for Tennessee since Kentucky won 27–0 in 1935.[45][46][47] The next three games saw Guarantano injured and eventually benched for the rest of the season.[48][49][50] Guarantano threw for 1,112 yards and six touchdowns with four interceptions in seven games during the 2020 season that wascut short due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[51][52]
Guarantano transferred for the 2021 season toWashington State as a graduate transfer where, due to a knee injury, he only appeared in two games with the Cougars, throwing for 304 yards and one touchdown.[53][54] He was named to the Golden Arm Award watch list in August 2021.[55] He completed his bachelor's degree in psychology in December 2019 and a master's in Agriculture.[56]
After going undrafted in the2022 NFL draft, he signed after a rookie minicamp as an UDFA-contract with theArizona Cardinals.[58] He played his first game for Arizona in the first preseason game against theCincinnati Bengals. He played in every game of the preseason but was cut on August 30, 2022.[59] He was re-signed to the practice squad on September 7.[60] He was released on October 4.[61]
At the end of November he had a tryout with theDenver Broncos but failed to get signed.[62] On December 5, 2022, Guarantano was signed to the Broncos' practice squad.[63] He was promoted to the active roster on December 20.[64] On July 25, 2023, Guarantano was waived.[65]
Guarantano signed with theHouston Gamblers of the USFL on December 22, 2023.[66]
Guarantano and all other Houston Gamblers players and coaches were all transferred to theHouston Roughnecks after it was announced that the Gamblers took on the identity of their XFL counterpart, the Roughnecks.[67]
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