The Roughnecks are bringing the “new guard” at quarterback as Mike Mitchell says, and they have a mixed and intriguing group of young prospects here. 26 Year old Tennessee and Washington State product Jarrett Guarantano has the starting jobs heading into the season, and he’ll presumably be backed up by 28 year old veteran Reid Sinnett, with the 25 year old Nolan Henderson out of Delaware filling out the QB room.
Jarrett Guarantano
Jarrett Guarantano has won the starting job to begin the 2024 season, and there’s a lot of potential here. At Tennessee, he started his run behind familiar faces Josh Dobbs and Quentin Dormady, before picking up starts for the Volunteers. He started 38 games there, before transferring to Washington State as a graduate. In 40 career starts he tossed for 6,478 yards, 39 touchdowns and 20 interceptions with 5 TD’s on the ground.
Guarantano had stints with the Cardinals and Broncos in the NFL, and had a great showing in the 2022 preseason. With the Cardinals, he tossed 232 yards and 3 TD’s with no picks, competing with Trace McSorley for the QB3 spot behind Kyler Murray and Colt McCoy. It’s good to see he progressed at the NFL level in preseason action, and with more reps in the UFL, he’s an exciting young prospect.
He has ability to throw on rollouts and create space, but projects as more of a traditional pocket passer, and looked good taking snaps under center with the Cardinals.
Reid Sinnett
Reid Sinnett is projected as the QB2 here, and brings a lot of experience around NFL teams and Spring Football to the quarterback room. He started one season at San Diego, and made a huge impact on the field, tossing 3,528 yards,32 TD’s and 10 picks with 174 rush yards and 6 more scores on the ground. He was first team All-PFL and Walter Payton Award finalist, and landed a spot on Tom Brady Buccaneers in 2020.
He’s since spent time with the Dolphins, Eagles, and Bengals in the NFL, where he’s shown up well in the preseason. In that action, he’s totalled 732 pass yards, 6 TD’s and 2 Int’s, and also had a run with the San Antonio Brahmas in the XFL.
Nolan Henderson
Nolan Henderson grew up watching Delaware football, and spent the 2017-2022 seasons under center for the Fightin’ Blue Hens. He racked up 6,429 yards and posted a 56-14 TD/INT ratio, adding 418 yards and 8 TD’s rushing. He spent time with the Baltimore Ravens in 2023, and is now looking to extend his resume in the UFL.
An athletic prospect, he posted a 4.55 40 yard dash at his pro day, and while his college offense didn’t call on him to rush often, I’m curious how that speed will translate into the pros. An intriguing option behind Guarantano and Sinnett.
