Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel suddenly has an important offseason problem to address.

And there's no obvious solution.

Vols true freshman quarterback Tayven Jackson entered the NCAA transfer portal on Friday.

Tennessee QB Tayven Jackson is entering the portal. Some college coaches thought he was one of the most talented quarterbacks in the 2022 signing class.

— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) January 13, 2023

Jackson is a former four-star recruit who saw limited action in 2022.

The Indiana native missed the final month-plus of the regular season, plus the Vols' bowl game against Clemson, while dealing with an injury he suffered in Tennessee's win against UT Martin.

With Jackson leaving town, it means the Vols have just two scholarship quarterbacks on the roster for the 2023 season.

Redshirt senior Joe Milton and five-star signee Nico Iamaleava are Tennessee's only scholarship options. Behind Milton and Iamaleava are walk-ons Gaston Moore (who was previously with Josh Heupel at UCF) and Navy Shuler, the son of former Tennessee quarterback Heath Shuler.

Having just two scholarship quarterbacks obviously isn't ideal.

We've seen plenty of times where programs, including Tennessee, have had to go to their No. 3 or No. 4 quarterback because of injuries. Every program hopes to avoid injuries, but sometimes they're unavoidable. And you have to be prepared.

So now the Vols are in a situation where they need to find another scholarship quarterback.

And that won't be easy.

Most quarterbacks enter the transfer portal because they want a chance to start. If a quarterback transfers to Tennessee, they know they'd likely be the No. 3 quarterback (or maybe No. 2, depending on how Iamaleava progresses this spring/summer).

Why would a quarterback transfer to UT knowing that Milton will almost certainly be the starter in 2023 while Iamaleava is the future of the program?

That's why there isn't an easy solution to this problem.

I seriously doubt Heupel wants to go into the 2023 season with Moore as his No. 3 quarterback. That's no slight against Moore, but I doubt a former UCF scout-team quarterback is going to lead Tennessee to wins in key SEC games if something happens to Milton and Nico.

Finding a quarterback who is talented enough to operate Heupel's up-tempo offense at an SEC level but is okay with sitting behind Milton and Iamaleava won't be easy.

Heupel and his staff, however, are going to have to find someone in the portal who is fine with that role. Otherwise, the Vols will be taking a huge gamble in 2023.

Featured image via Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports