As a former National Championship-winning quarterback at Oklahoma, Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel has a clear knack for the quarterback position. Heupel helped Drew Lock excel at Missouri as an assistant, put Dillon Gabriel on the right path as the head coach at UCF, and took Hendon Hooker to near-Heisman status at Tennessee.
Heupel’s offenses have also been impressive behind these quarterbacks. For a second straight season, though, Tennessee will be breaking in a new starting quarterback. Heupel got the most out of Joe Milton before his route to the NFL but now has a blank slate to mold a former five-star recruit into a dynamic quarterback at Tennessee.
Nico Iamaleava, a former five-star and No. 1 overall recruit in the class of 2023, is heading into his sophomore season at Tennessee and will be the Vols’ starter in 2024. Iamaleava found his first start in the Citrus Bowl and recorded four touchdowns (three rushing, one passing) in an impressive outing. Also on the sideline for that game in Orlando was class of 2024 four-star quarterback Jake Merklinger, who joined the Tennessee program as an early enrollee this past December ahead of his freshman season in the fall.
George MacIntyre is a blue-chip prospect from the Vols’ 2025 signing class. The Nashville, TN, native committed to Tennessee in January and is a strong player that Josh Heupel can build the class around. MacIntyre is ranked as a five-star quarterback and the No. 3 quarterback in the class of 2025 according to On3’s industry rankings.
With Iamaleava, Merklinger, and MacIntyre leading the charge, ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg has Tennessee ranked at No. 12 in terms of best futures regarding the quarterback position.
“Despite the excitement about Iamaleava as a multiyear option, Tennessee has continued to recruit well at quarterback,” Rittenberg wrote for ESPN. “Freshman Jake Merklinger is enrolled early and on campus, giving the Vols an ESPN top-200 recruit from Georgia. Tennessee also has a 2025 commitment from in-state standout George MacIntyre, ESPN’s No. 57 prospect in the class. Heupel’s offense will continue to be a major selling point for quarterbacks in high school and in the portal.”
More from RTI: Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava Given Top 10 Odds For Heisman Trophy in 2024
While Tennessee does boast two impressive young prospects and a blue-chip commit from the current recruiting cycle, the Vols’ class is hurt by the lack of depth in the room for the 2024 season. With Iamaleava being a first-year starter as a sophomore and Merklinger as a true freshman, Tennessee only has veterans Gaston Moore and Navy Shuler at the position in addition to redshirt freshman Ryan Damron. While it would be nice for Tennessee to have an experienced former starter from the transfer portal, it isn’t always that easy. Heupel and the Vols’ staff have shown commitment to Iamaleava as Tennessee’s young starter and have one player (soon to be two) that are going to be molded in the Vols’ offensive system. With the quarterback development that Tennessee projects to have out of the high school recruiting scene over the next few years, there’s less of a need (and, frankly, ability) to load up the roster with transfer portal quarterbacks.
Out of the 11 teams ranked above Tennessee, seven of the programs have one portal quarterback in their position group with two of the top three listed (No. 1 Ohio State, No. 3 Oregon) boasting two portal quarterbacks.
It doesn’t seem as though the Vols’ lack of a returning starter was that much of a hit to Rittenberg’s rankings considering only five of the 11 teams above Tennessee are listed with one.
Despite Tennessee’s ranking at 12, the Vols are the seventh-highest ranked team from the Southeastern Conference. Texas leads the way at No. 2 followed by No. 4 Georgia, No. 6 Alabama, No. 7 Ole Miss, No. 8 LSU, and No. 11 Oklahoma.
Tennessee boasted the 8th ranking in Rittenberg’s 2023 rankings with Joe Milton III and Nico Iamaleava on the roster and neither Merklinger nor MacIntyre having committed quite yet. Merklinger’s commitment came just about eight days after the article was posted.
To view Adam Rittenberg’s full futures quarterback rankings for ESPN, click here.
