There’s a QB that many believe will enter the transfer portal that would be a seamless fit for the Tennessee Vols’ offense
The Tennessee Vols are expected to pursue a transfer quarterback when the portal opens Jan. 2.
Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel all but confirmed that he plans to add a transfer quarterback to UT’s roster this offseason.
Heupel, however, didn’t indicate whether he will pursue a depth option or one of the top quarterbacks in the portal.
“Unless we can go sign Philip Rivers to a free agent contract,” said Heupel when asked if the Vols need three quarterbacks next season. “Yeah, I mean there’s been years where you’ve had that happen, where you’ve had to play a third (quarterback). So don’t want to do that, but it’s happened before.”
Earlier this week, Vols redshirt freshman quarterback Jake Merklinger announced that he plans to enter the transfer portal.
With senior quarterback Joey Aguilar unlikely to return in 2026, it will leave the Vols with just rising redshirt freshman George MacIntyre and rising true freshman Faizon Brandon as scholarship quarterbacks on the roster for next season.
There’s a QB that many believe will enter the transfer portal that would be a seamless fit for Tennessee’s offense
There’s a lot of speculation about who the Vols could target in the transfer portal.
For now, though, it’s nothing more than speculation. But since we’re speculating, here’s a name that I think could be a good fit for Tennessee — USF quarterback Byrum Brown.
Now, Brown hasn’t officially entered the transfer portal yet, but he didn’t play in USF’s bowl game on Wednesday (he was, however, on the sideline supporting his teammates). The feeling is that Brown will likely enter the portal at some point over the next week or so.
It would make sense for Brown to follow former USF head coach Alex Golesh to Auburn (Golesh was named Auburn’s new head coach shortly after the regular season wrapped up). But it’s not a certainty that Brown will go to Auburn if he enters the portal.
“Even if [Brown] hits the portal, he’s no guarantee to end up at Auburn; he’ll drive a high price on a transfer market where productive QBs are at a premium,” wrote Auburn Undercover’s Nathan King recently.
Golesh, who served as Tennessee’s offensive coordinator from 2021-2022, runs an offense that’s very, very similar to the Vols’ offense. That would make Brown a seamless fit for Tennessee.
Brown passed for 3,158 yards, 28 touchdowns, and seven interceptions last season while rushing for 1,008 yards and 14 touchdowns. He’s clearly a dynamic player. And he only has one year of eligibility remaining, so he would seemingly fit what Heupel and the Vols are looking for (MacIntyre and Brandon are Tennessee’s longterm answers at quarterback).
Again, it’s unclear what level of quarterback Heupel will pursue in the transfer portal. And it’s possible that Brown will elect to follow Golesh to Auburn. But Brown is an option that makes a lot of sense for Tennessee, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea for the Vols to at least kick the tires on the North Carolina native to see if he’s interested in spending his last college season on Rocky Top.
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