Watch: Tennessee Vols QB commit impresses with deep throw
2024 four-star quarterback Jake Merklinger is one of the Tennessee Vols' most underrated commits. Merklinger, 6-foot-3/195 lbs from Savannah, GA, is rated in 247Sports' composite rankings as the No. 7 quarterback in the nation and the No. 10 player in the state of Georgia. He's also rated as the No. 61 overall player in the […]
2024 four-star quarterback Jake Merklinger is one of the Tennessee Vols' most underrated commits.
Merklinger, 6-foot-3/195 lbs from Savannah, GA, is rated in 247Sports' composite rankings as the No. 7 quarterback in the nation and the No. 10 player in the state of Georgia. He's also rated as the No. 61 overall player in the nation.
Because of the presence of 2023 five-star quarterback Nico Iamaleava on Tennessee's roster, Merklinger hasn't received as much attention (at least nationally) as he probably should be.
Merklinger has a chance to to be a special player in the SEC. He has ideal size, he's athletic, he can pick up yards with his legs if needed, and he's accurate (especially on the move).
The only thing that Merklinger is lacking is a Joe Milton-like right arm. But of course, very few people on the planet have an arm like Milton's.
While Merklinger doesn't have a legitimate rocket for an arm, he has enough arm strength to excel in Tennessee's offense. And he showed that this past week via a beautiful deep throw in a seven-on-seven game.
That's exactly what Merklinger will be asked to do in Josh Heupel's offense at Tennessee.
In fact, that play looked just like Joe Milton's touchdown pass to Ramel Keyton in the Vols' win against Clemson in the Orange Bowl.
Heupel has only been on Rocky Top for a little over two years and he's already turned Tennessee into a quarterback factory.
Vols legend Peyton Manning gives his thoughts on Josh Heupel’s offense and Hendon Hooker
Tennessee Vols legend Peyton Manning recently appeared on "The Nation" with VolQuest's Austin Price and ESPN's Chris Low to discuss a variety of topics. One of the topics that came up, of course, was the current Tennessee football team. Manning made it clear to Price and Low that he thinks Josh Heupel is the right […]
Featured image via Kyunnie Shuman/For Savannah Morning News / USA TODAY NETWORK
