Latest news with #JakeMerklinger
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Why Tennessee football fans pick a favorite quarterback before competition begins
Some Tennessee football fans have already picked their preferred quarterback: Joey Aguilar, Jake Merklinger or George MacIntyre. But why so soon, and based on what? On this episode of "The Volunteer State" podcast, hosts Adam Sparks and John Adams explore the phenomenon of fans showing stern allegiance to a particular quarterback over the other contenders on the same team. Advertisement It's even stranger when the quarterbacks have barely played, or at least not played for the Vols. UT begins preseason practice on July 30, when the the quarterback competition will take center stage. To hear the full conversation, listen to the podcast. Here are some highlights. Lessons from Peyton Manning vs. Branndon Stewart Sparks shared the story about when, in 1994, he briefly thought Branndon Stewart was a better option at quarterback than Peyton Manning. In a blowout loss to Florida, Stewart had better stats than Manning. And Stewart was a dual-threat quarterback like Heath Shuler, which seemed to matter at the time. Advertisement Let that be a lesson for fans looking for the second coming of Hendon Hooker in the current competition. Successful quarterbacks can take different shapes and sizes. Sparks, a 14-year-old during the 1994 season, said it also didn't matter to him that Peyton was Archie Manning's son. He preferred to be a contrarian by initially favoring Stewart. "To a 14-year-old kid in 1994, telling me that he was Archie Manning's son was like telling a kid today that (a freshman quarterback) is Tim Couch's son – that is, a son of a really good former SEC quarterback who you had seen very little of but had heard the name of," Sparks said. "So for those reasons, for a very short time I thought Branndon Stewart was better than Peyton Manning. And obviously I was completely wrong." Advertisement JOEY AGUILAR He won over Tennessee teammates. Now he must win QB job Why fans favor Joey Aguilar, Jake Merklinger or George MacIntyre Adams said fans like to believe that they can see something that coaches or media haven't seen. It motivates them to pick a quarterback, often not the obvious frontrunner, in hopes of being proven right. Reporters do that too. We can watch a preferred quarterback make a couple of nice plays and then accentuate his positives while ignoring his flaws. UT fans favoring Aguilar point to his experience in 24 starts at Appalachian State. He passed for 6,760 yards and 56 touchdowns in two seasons. Advertisement UT fans favoring Merklinger believe his experience in Josh Heupel's system will make a difference. And Merklinger flashed his talent in the 2024 Orange and White spring game. UT fans favoring MacIntyre like that he's an in-state product with a college football pedigree. And he played well in the 2025 Orange and White spring game. Too much attention to Joey Aguilar? You be the judge Sparks saw a subtle backlash to Aguilar from some UT fans following SEC football media days. Media covering the Vols produced several stories from the event that focused on Aguilar and his integration into the team over the summer. Advertisement Those stories didn't crown Aguilar as the starter. Instead, they laid out the open competition, where all three quarterbacks will get a shot at the starting job. But some fans interpreted attention paid to Aguilar as an endorsement of him as the starter. It's a common misperception. But stories were also written about Merklinger and MacIntyre when they were the newest quarterback on the roster. Sparks and Adams also discussed some players to watch in preseason practice, including Duke transfer running back Star Thomas and Alabama transfer wide receiver Amari Jefferson. To hear that discussion and more about the quarterbacks, listen to the podcast. Advertisement Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at Get the latest news and insight on SEC football by subscribing to the SEC Unfiltered newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox. This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee fans pick favorite QB: Joey Aguilar, Jake Merklinger, George MacIntyre
USA Today
13-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Miles Kitselman discusses being a leader, rallying Tennessee after spring practices
Miles Kitselman discusses being a leader, rallying Tennessee after spring practices Tennessee concluded spring football practices Saturday with its Orange & White Game at Neyland Stadium. Team Orange tied White, 14-14. The game featured two quarterbacks for Tennessee: Redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger and early enrollee freshman George MacIntyre. The Vols were down to two signal-callers after redshirt sophomore quarterback Nico Iamaleava left the program as he intends to enter the NCAA transfer portal. Iamaleava did not attend Tennessee's final spring football practice on Friday and was not at the Orange & White Game. Following the Orange & White Game, senior tight end Miles Kitselman discussed being a leader on the offensive side of the ball and rallying the team. "Obviously, I'm old," Kitselman said. "I'm really old, but I have been a part of some really talented teams that haven't won a whole lot because there were individuals on those teams. Quite frankly, there's no other group that I would go to war with right now than the guys that we have on this team. Just implementing that and knowing that I got their back. I don't even have to question what they had in mind, just day-in and day-out, show them I am going to give my everything for this program and for this team."
