The under-the-radar concern for the Tennessee Vols that will likely come into play at some point during the 2025 season

There's an under-the-radar concern for the Tennessee Vols entering the 2025 season that will almost certainly come into play at some point next fall.  Shortly after the Vols' loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the first round of the College Football Playoff, Tennessee backup quarterback Gaston Moore entered the NCAA transfer portal. Moore, who […]

Zach Ragan — Tennessee Volunteers News Writer
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There's an under-the-radar concern for the Tennessee Vols entering the 2025 season that will almost certainly come into play at some point next fall. 

Shortly after the Vols' loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the first round of the College Football Playoff, Tennessee backup quarterback Gaston Moore entered the NCAA transfer portal.

Moore, who has one year of eligibility remaining, had been with the Vols since the 2021 season. 

In 2024, Moore served as the Volunteers' primary backup quarterback. And he had to take some key snaps for Tennessee on a couple of occasions last season. 

Moore entered the game for a play in the first half of Tennessee's win against Alabama after starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava was briefly sidelined. Moore also played the entire second half of the Vols' win against Mississippi State after Iamaleava was removed from the game after suffering a head injury. 

With Moore hitting the transfer portal, it opens the door for rising redshirt freshman quarterback Jake Merklinger to serve as the top backup to Iamaleava. 

Merklinger, a former four-star recruit from Savannah, GA, completed six-of-nine passes for 48 yards in 2024 while seeing action against Chattanooga and Kent State. He's now one snap away from being "the guy" at Tennessee. 

At some point in 2025, Merklinger will likely have to play some important snaps for Tennessee. That could be a series, a half, or maybe even a spot start. No one is predicting that Iamaleava will suffer an injury, but it's a long season and players get beat up. Head injuries happen, ankles get rolled, etc. Things happen. 

Merklinger is obviously a talented player — he was rated as the No. 13 quarterback in the 2024 recruiting class — but he hasn't played meaningful SEC snaps yet. At this point in his career, he's an unknown. 

Tennessee will obviously hope that Merklinger only has to play in mop-up duty in 2025. But the reality is that the young quarterback will probably need to play some key snaps for the Vols at some point during the season. 

How ready will Merklinger be if/when his number is called? 

We won't know that answer until we see Merklinger in action. But it's an answer that could end up having a big impact on the Vols' 2025 season. 

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