Lucas Panzica discusses the QB battle for the Tennessee Volunteers this offseason, consisting of Jake Merklinger, George MacIntyre, and Joey Aguilar.
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00:00Well, it was a wild saga between Nico Iamaliava and the Tennessee Volunteers.
00:05But at this point, weeks have gone by.
00:07We know exactly what Tennessee's quarterback room looks like going into next season.
00:11Now the question looms, who's the favorite to be the starter for the Vols?
00:15We'll discuss it next.
00:20Hey, Lucas Panzeke here from 104.5 The Zone and A to Z Sports.
00:23So we know Tennessee's quarterback room consists of three scholarship players.
00:28They are former four-star Jake Merklinger, former four-star George McIntyre,
00:33and the Appalachian State to UCLA to Tennessee transfer Joey Aguilar,
00:38who comes to Tennessee in the wake of Nico's move from Tennessee to UCLA.
00:43Now the Vols reportedly are paying Aguilar just over a million dollars in NIL money,
00:48close to the figure that he was making at UCLA.
00:52So when you ask the question, who's the favorite to win this starting job,
00:55I think it's easy right now to sit here and say Joey Aguilar will be in the driver's seat
01:00just based on his experience at the college football level.
01:04And the money that Tennessee is paying him absolutely is a factor here as well.
01:09But let's start with that experience.
01:11Joey Aguilar, though not as highly recruited as the likes of Jake Merklinger or George McIntyre,
01:16comes into Tennessee having played in 35 games in his college football career.
01:21Two seasons at Appalachian State.
01:23That includes nearly 7,000 career passing yards, 56 career passing touchdowns,
01:29to 24 career interceptions.
01:31That's what he brings into this quarterback room.
01:34Jake Merklinger is a guy that's only attempted nine passes at the FBS level.
01:38And as we know, George McIntyre has yet to step on the field at this level
01:43as he undergoes his first spring practice or just wrapped up his first spring practice
01:47as a Tennessee quarterback.
01:49So it is easy to say Joey Aguilar.
01:51Of course, the key difference is Joey Aguilar has to take on this offense
01:57and learn the entire system in a matter of months.
01:59He did not get the luxury of spring practice.
02:02In fact, Aguilar spent all of spring ball learning an entirely new offense
02:06under Tino Sinceri, the offensive coordinator at UCLA,
02:09before coming to Tennessee.
02:11And it's a very different-looking offense from what the Vols run
02:14when you think back to what Indiana did in the 2024 season
02:18when Sinceri was the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Hoosiers.
02:22So Aguilar comes in, and there was a report over the weekend from Chris Lowe
02:27that he actually may arrive on campus earlier than anticipated.
02:31Joey Aguilar could move to Knoxville
02:33and start getting integrated with this football team around mid-May,
02:37which would be a huge development every week will be important for Aguilar
02:41to get this system under his feet before the start of training camp.
02:45Now, it's not unprecedented for a quarterback to come in
02:48to Josh Heupel's system at Tennessee post-spring practice
02:51and win the starting job.
02:53Of course, we saw that with Joe Milton.
02:55Hendon Hooker was here.
02:56He was a holdover from the Pruitt era, was there throughout spring practice,
03:00and Tennessee hit the portal looking for a quarterback
03:02before that 2021 season, year one of the Heupel era.
03:06Of course, they brought in Milton from Michigan,
03:08and he was able to win the job in fall camp.
03:11We all know how that turned out.
03:12Joe Milton got hurt.
03:13Hendon Hooker came in.
03:14The rest is history, but it is certainly not unprecedented
03:18to see a quarterback come in at this point in the year
03:20and be able to learn enough of the offense
03:22to hold off talented players for a starting role.
03:26So I do think if you were to label a betting favorite
03:29for the starting quarterback of the Vols right now,
03:32it would have to be Joey Aguilar simply based on that experience.
03:36But you can't rule out Jake Merklinger here,
03:39and you do give Merklinger the nod if it comes down
03:41to either he or George McIntyre
03:43just due to the fact that McIntyre is still so fresh-faced
03:47on campus right now.
03:49He still has to add some good weight.
03:51He doesn't have the year under his belt
03:53that Merklinger had in this system last year
03:55as the third-string quarterback for the Vols.
03:57So if you're to rank it right now,
04:00you're probably going Joey Aguilar 1,
04:02Jake Merklinger 2, and George McIntyre.
04:05But when fall camp comes around,
04:07Tennessee will have an opportunity
04:08to really test out its quarterback depth chart.
04:11One thing I do believe is that this will be
04:13a legitimate competition.
04:15It will not be Joey Aguilar arriving in Knoxville
04:18and getting the keys to the offense
04:19handed to him right off the bat.
04:21He's going to have to come in
04:23and win the starting job
04:24after what has certainly been a whirlwind of an offseason,
04:27not just for him, but for the Tennessee football program
04:30as a whole, as we know.
04:32It'll be a very interesting fall camp.
04:34Vols fans will be checking in for updates at every turn.
04:37And like I said, Aguilar seems like he will arrive on campus
04:40maybe earlier than anticipated,
04:42which is a very positive development.
04:44But there's no doubt there will be
04:46an important quarterback battle taking place in Knoxville
04:49before that week one kickoff against Syracuse in Atlanta
04:52for the 2025 season.
04:53We'll see you next time.
04:58We'll see you next time.