Tennessee Vols receive some important clarity on the quarterback position for the 2026 season
The Tennessee Vols are one step closer to figuring out their quarterback room for the 2026 season.
The Tennessee Vols received some important clarity on Wednesday on their quarterback room for the 2026 season.
On3’s Hayes Fawcett reported on Wednesday morning that Vols redshirt freshman quarterback Jake Merklinger is set to enter the NCAA transfer portal.
It’s long been expected that Merklinger, who passed for 221 yards in his two seasons at Tennessee, would enter the portal following the regular season.
The former four-star recruit simply wasn’t going to have a role at Tennessee in 2026.
What does Jake Merklinger’s decision mean for Tennessee?
With Merklinger now officially set to transfer, the Vols are free to add another quarterback.
Tennessee, however, is still waiting to hear if Joey Aguilar, who started all 12 regular-season games for the Vols in 2025, will be granted another season of eligibility. Unfortunately for Aguilar and Tennessee, it’s unclear when a ruling on that will come down.
If Aguilar doesn’t return in 2026, which is the likely outcome, it will leave the Vols with rising redshirt freshman George MacIntyre and rising true freshman Faizon Brandon as Tennessee’s only two scholarship quarterbacks.
The Vols essentially have to add another quarterback to their roster. But to this point, we don’t know whether UT head coach Josh Heupel will target a top quarterback in the portal or look for a depth option to serve as competition.
Either way, we now know that Merklinger won’t be playing on Rocky Top in 2026.
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