Josh Heupel ended the battle for Tennessee’s starting quarterback spot Sunday night, naming transfer Joey Aguilar the Vols’ starting quarterback entering the 2025 season. There are plenty of questions about how Aguilar will perform in his senior season at Tennessee, but Heupel naming him the starter answers the biggest question of the preseason.
But there is still another important preseason quarterback question unanswered for Tennessee. Who is the backup?
Jake Merklinger and George MacIntyre were the two quarterbacks battling Aguilar for the starting job and while Merklinger was seen as Aguilar’s top competition, Tennessee never eliminated MacIntyre from the competition or whittled down his practice reps.
Now, Merklinger got a lot more first team reps than MacIntyre during portions of practice open to the media which does make him the more logical backup. But MacIntyre continued to get better throughout camp and was accurate throwing the football during both open periods of practice and in the Vols’ first fall scrimmage.
Heupel meets with the media Tuesday and it’ll be interesting to see if he names a backup quarterback. My best guess is that Heupel says that battle is ongoing and doesn’t name a backup before Tennessee takes the field against Syracuse in the season opener.
More From RTI: What Coaches, Teammates Have Said About Tennessee Starting QB Joey Aguilar This Fall Camp
Merklinger is a redshirt freshman who has a full year under his belt in Tennessee’s offense. He played very little as the Vols’ third string quarterback a season ago, completing six-of-nine passes for 48 yards. But the full year of experience as an advantage for Merklinger in the backup competition.
MacIntyre is a true freshman from the midstate. The 6-foot-5 signal caller was a four-star recruit and the No. 13 quarterback in the 2026 recruiting cycle according to the 247sports composite rankings. MacIntyre is clearly extremely talented but being a true freshman makes it a challenge for him to gain complete understanding of the offense and grab the backup spot.
My best guess is that Merklinger begins the season as Tennessee’s backup quarterback. But it wouldn’t surprise me if MacIntyre claims that job by the end of the season.
Stay tuned to RockyTopInsider.com for an update about what Josh Heupel says about the backup quarterback battle Tuesday.
