‘I will be shocked’ – Vols insider shares the latest on Tennessee’s starting QB battle ahead of season-opener against Syracuse
The Tennessee Vols haven’t decided on a starting quarterback yet, but with just a few weeks to go before the season opener against Syracuse, the quarterback picture is starting to come into focus. VolQuest’s Austin Price joined 104.5 The Zone’s Ramon and Will on Tuesday to share the latest on where the Vols’ quarterback battle […]
The Tennessee Vols haven’t decided on a starting quarterback yet, but with just a few weeks to go before the season opener against Syracuse, the quarterback picture is starting to come into focus.
VolQuest’s Austin Price joined 104.5 The Zone’s Ramon and Will on Tuesday to share the latest on where the Vols’ quarterback battle stands between UCLA transfer Joey Aguilar, redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger, and true freshman George MacIntyre
“At this point, I will be shocked if Joey Aguilar is not the starter for Syracuse,” said Price. “Which is no great leap of faith, right? I mean, he’s been long thought to be the front-runner because of his experience. But I think he’s having a solid enough fall camp — even minus the scrimmage, because they do a lot of scrimmage work during the course of practice — to where you feel like he’s got a pretty good shot to be Tennessee starter against Syracuse. And again, that’s not jumping out on any kind of small limb — that’s a fairly big limb to jump out on.”
MacIntyre has reportedly looked good during fall camp, but concerns persist about his weight. He likely needs to add some more bulk to his frame before he’s ready to start in the SEC.
Aguilar, meanwhile, is still finding his groove in Tennessee’s offense. But it sounds like he’s looked good enough in fall camp to be considered the leader in this competition.
As for Merklinger, it sounds like he’s left a little to be desired during fall camp.
It feels like it’s only a matter of time before Aguilar is named the starter. The most interesting part of this battle could end up being who backs up Aguilar. MacIntyre could force his way into the No. 2 role, despite the concerns about his frame.
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