Tennessee Volunteers QB Jake Merklinger Plans to Enter NCAA Transfer Portal

Jake Merklinger plans to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal after his second season with the Vols.

Tennessee quarterback Jake Merklinger (12) throws the ball before a NCAA football game between Tennessee and UAB at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., September 20, 2025. | Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Tennessee Volunteers in the 2025 college football season with a lot of different question marks, but at this time, some of their answers have been revealed. They were able to make the most out of the cards that they we dealt, as I made the most out of it with guys that were newcomers and very young players in the system, as they lost almost 40 players in total in the off-season when it comes to both the transfer portal and the NFL draft.

One of the players that they lost to the portal was Nico Iamaleava, who was the starting QB for the Tennessee Volunteers, but would transfer to the UCLA Bruins to be their starting QB. This led the Vols to have some questions at the QB position, which later led to a QB battle between two guys. Those two are Joey Aguilar and Jake Merklinger.

Aguilar won the QB battle, as expected, as he is the veteran and has started many seasons in college football. Not only that, but he also transferred from UCLA, which was the school he was expected to start at. This led to Merklinger being the backup for this season in his redshirt-freshman season.

His name has been thrown around along with George MacIntyre and Faizon Brandon for the starting QB job, but it was known that there was a chance that a young quarterback would enter the transfer portal, especially with the top-rated quarterback in the nation coming to Tennessee.

Jake Merklinger Enters The Portal

Tennessee quarterback Jake Merklinger (12) warm-ups before a NCAA football game between Tennessee Volunteers and New Mexico State Aggies at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on Nov. 15, 2025. | Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

This led to a major portal entry, which fans will likely have some split feelings on. That QB is Jake Merklinger, who is now expected to enter the college transfer portal. Merklinger finished the season with 173 yards and two touchdowns, but his QBR wasn't very hot, as he finished the season with a 45.5 QBR. The young QB appeared in three games this season, and was the best represented in his showing against the ETSU Bucs, which is the game he had 118 yards and two touchdowns.

Merklinger is a former four-star QB from the state of Georgia, who committed to the Vols over many different schools. Some of these schools include Michigan State and Georgia. He will likely be searching for a place where he can start immediately, as he will be looking to get the starting reps he was hopeful he could earn.

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