Tennessee football finds itself at a turning point in mid April after parting ways with starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava on Saturday morning.
The move leaves just two quarterbacks on Tennessee’s roster and redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger as the perceived starter for the time being. Merklinger has played in just two games in his college career making him a relatively unknown commodity.
Here’s three things to know about the redshirt freshman quarterback.
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Merklinger Was Solid In Limited Action Last Season
Merklinger was Tennessee’s third string quarterback in 2024 behind Iamaleava and veteran walk-on quarterback Gaston Moore.
The 6-foot-3 signal caller played in two games while retaining his redshirt. Merklinger made his college debut in Tennessee’s 69-3 win over UTC, completing all four of his pass attempts for 31 yards while rushing for three yards on one carry. Two weeks later. he completed two-of-five passes for 17 yards while rushing for 21 yards on four carries in Tennessee’s 71-0 win over Kent State.
Before Iamaleava’s exit, Merklinger was poised to be Tennessee’s backup quarterback. Offensive coordinator Joey Halzle has been complimentary of Merklinger during spring practice.
Merklinger Was A Four-Star Prospect Coming Out Of High School
Merklinger was one of Tennessee’s first commits in its 2024 recruiting class choosing the Vols over Georgia, Michigan and North Carolina on March 30, 2023.
All four of the primary recruiting sites ranked Merklinger as a four-star with Rivals the highest on him, ranking him as the No. 80 player in the country. ESPN ranked him as the No. 185 player in the country, On3 ranked him at the No. 202 player in the country and 247sports ranked him as the No. 212 player in the country.
Merklinger boasted offers from 28 Division I programs including from eight SEC schools. He early enrolled at Tennessee ahead of Citrus Bowl practices in December 2023 before going through 2024 spring practice.
Merklinger Had An Impressive High School Career
Merklinger had an impressive prep career at the Calvary Day School in Savannah. He was a four-year starter for the Cavaliers, leading them to a 42-10 record in his four seasons as a starter. Calvary Day School was particularly effective in Merklinger’s final three seasons, going 10-3 his sophomore year, 11-2 in his junior year and 13-1 his senior season.
The Cavaliers won the region titles in each of Merklinger’s final three high school seasons. Calvary Day lost in the second round of the playoffs in Merklinger’s junior season before making it all the way to the state semifinals in his senior season.
Merklinger completed 21-of-29 passes for 275 yards while totaling six touchdowns in his 49-42 high school career ending loss against Cedar Grove. That same Cedar Grove team ended the Cavaliers season in a 30-0 shellacking the season before.
Playing in Georgia AAA high school football, Merklinger threw for 3,028 passing yards, 38 touchdown passes and just two interceptions in his senior season. He added 450 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns. Merklinger finished his high school career with 145 total touchdowns.
3 Responses
Modern day football college. The portal. What can we do Congress about this problem. Compensate other players?
He’s what’s wrong with Football intercourse Nic blow
I liked Nico, but I didn’t love him. He was too inconsistent down the field and he held onto the ball for too long at times. And I am glad Tennessee held its ground on this. I was a fan of college players get compensation but not to the point that they are making more than a Pro Quarterback makes. There’s a point you’ve got to make.