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Josh Heupel evaluates QB signee Jake Merklinger, charts next steps
By Keith Farner
Published:
Josh Heupel spoke about his quarterback of the future, QB signee Jake Merklinger, on Wednesday as he covered all of the Vols new players.
Merklinger is from Savannah, Georgia. is listed at 6-foot-3, 195 pounds. At the time of his commitment in late March, he was the No. 55 overall player and the No. 6 quarterback in the country for the 2024 cycle, per 247Sports Composite rankings. He’s also the No. 9 player from the state of Georgia.
He’s the latest in a talented line of quarterback recruiting under Heupel. In the class of 2023, the Vols landed 5-star quarterback Nico Iamaleava.
“He’s going to have to grow really quickly,” Heupel said of Merklinger. “He will get spoon-fed as we start here in January and grow into spring football.”
Heupel also shared what appealed to him about Merklinger.
“Smart, competitive. He’s got good fundamentals,” Heupel said. “We’ve got to refine some of those things. He’s already been working on those since he stepped foot on campus. But his football IQ, his ability to retain information, process out on the football field. He’s a winner, he’s competitive, he’s got the right makeup.”
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
