Can someone explain to me why Merklinger or MacIntyre can't be QB1?

[gobigorange91]

Can someone please explain to me why it seems like both national media and local media think there is just no way that a redshirt freshman who was the 13th best QB or true freshman who was 17th best QB just don't stand a chance this year? I get that they are "unproven" but I mean did Nico really prove much last year? His numbers were not great and everyone would point to that. Did he have the physical tools? Sure, but so did Joe Milton and he just could never put it together in three years in the program. Why is everyone so sure Nico would have but these other highly ranked guys couldn't. Why do we need to go get some "proven guy" with maybe a year under his belt in a different system to come in and start over a guy who will have been here a year and a half by the time the season starts. So basically if your not a five start you need at least three years in the system to be good? It's like people wanting you to have experience for the job but if you never get the opportunity to get experience how can you ever prove yourself? I'm just so sick of this narrative that they will be this huge drop off from Nico. I'm not buying it. They can do good. They can lead us to wins. Why in the world would you come here as a highly ranked QB if you couldn't do the job. Why did we bring them in if they can't do the job? How many great QBs have we seen that were ranked where those two were out of high school or lower. Why can't they do it? Why do they need to sit three years before they can do it? Sorry I'll quit ranting. These guys can produce this year. I believe it. I hope one of them goes out and proves absolutely everyone wrong. Go Vols!

 

[OrngeJuiceJones]

Can someone please explain to me why it seems like both national media and local media think there is just no way that a redshirt freshman who was the 13th best QB or true freshman who was 17th best QB just don't stand a chance this year? I get that they are "unproven" but I mean did Nico really prove much last year? His numbers were not great and everyone would point to that. Did he have the physical tools? Sure, but so did Joe Milton and he just could never put it together in three years in the program. Why is everyone so sure Nico would have but these other highly ranked guys couldn't. Why do we need to go get some "proven guy" with maybe a year under his belt in a different system to come in and start over a guy who will have been here a year and a half by the time the season starts. So basically if your not a five start you need at least three years in the system to be good? It's like people wanting you to have experience for the job but if you never get the opportunity to get experience how can you ever prove yourself? I'm just so sick of this narrative that they will be this huge drop off from Nico. I'm not buying it. They can do good. They can lead us to wins. Why in the world would you come here as a highly ranked QB if you couldn't do the job. Why did we bring them in if they can't do the job? How many great QBs have we seen that were ranked where those two were out of high school or lower. Why can't they do it? Why do they need to sit three years before they can do it? Sorry I'll quit ranting. These guys can produce this year. I believe it. I hope one of them goes out and proves absolutely everyone wrong. Go Vols!

We are the youngest we've been in a long time. Thin at WR, lost our best running back. We need a proven leader and playmaker against this schedule to not significantly drop off.

 

[Nico ee-ah-MAH-LAY-ah-va]

Can they? Yes

Are they the best option compared to all the currently and soon to be available QBs from the portal? Probably not.

2025 was supposed to be the year when we had an experienced QB leading the team. Most successful teams now have older QBs. Simply put: Merk and GMac are just young and inexperienced, like Nico last year. You see how that turned out.

 

[superdave1984]

It is not lack of talent, just lack of experience. I think they will both be very good if given experience. Trial by fire is not ideal for anyone in the SEC.

 

[VOLociraptorr]

He skinny bruh

 

[HooahVol]

We are the youngest we've been in a long time. Thin at WR, lost our best running back. We need a proven leader and playmaker against this schedule to not significantly drop off.

All good. I do wonder if we can bring in someone in the short amount of time left and turn them into a playmaker in our system. Honestly, we won last year because we had a great defense and Dylan Sampson. Nico was paid a lot of money to hand Dylan the ball. If Bishop and co. can continue the running game and we can just get someone who can make the high percentage throws I think our offense will be at least as productive as last season. Now, defense, well that worries me.

 

[gobigorange91]

It is not lack of talent, just lack of experience. I think they will both be very good if given experience. Trial by fire is not ideal for anyone in the SEC.

How in the world do they ever get experience? Basically the way everyone talks about it you shouldn't even come here to play QB. You should transfer in. Because you don't get experience here because we apparently don't think you should do that here. We need it before you play. I just have a hard time wrapping my head around that.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

Can someone please explain to me why it seems like both national media and local media think there is just no way that a redshirt freshman who was the 13th best QB or true freshman who was 17th best QB just don't stand a chance this year? I get that they are "unproven" but I mean did Nico really prove much last year? His numbers were not great and everyone would point to that. Did he have the physical tools? Sure, but so did Joe Milton and he just could never put it together in three years in the program. Why is everyone so sure Nico would have but these other highly ranked guys couldn't. Why do we need to go get some "proven guy" with maybe a year under his belt in a different system to come in and start over a guy who will have been here a year and a half by the time the season starts. So basically if your not a five start you need at least three years in the system to be good? It's like people wanting you to have experience for the job but if you never get the opportunity to get experience how can you ever prove yourself? I'm just so sick of this narrative that they will be this huge drop off from Nico. I'm not buying it. They can do good. They can lead us to wins. Why in the world would you come here as a highly ranked QB if you couldn't do the job. Why did we bring them in if they can't do the job? How many great QBs have we seen that were ranked where those two were out of high school or lower. Why can't they do it? Why do they need to sit three years before they can do it? Sorry I'll quit ranting. These guys can produce this year. I believe it. I hope one of them goes out and proves absolutely everyone wrong. Go Vols!

Opinions on VN are that Nico was "mid" yet Merk last year and through Spring practices couldn't separate himself and surpass Nico.

G-Mac in Spring practice seemed no better than Merk and has zero snaps in a college game as of yet.

There's a whole contingent saying Nico was the 9th best QB in the SEC last year yet neither Merk nor G-Mac could blow him away in practice.

Ask yourself, why couldn't Merk, at least, distinguish himself above Nico if Nico is the 9th best QB in the SEC?

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

Can someone please explain to me why it seems like both national media and local media think there is just no way that a redshirt freshman who was the 13th best QB or true freshman who was 17th best QB just don't stand a chance this year? I get that they are "unproven" but I mean did Nico really prove much last year? His numbers were not great and everyone would point to that. Did he have the physical tools? Sure, but so did Joe Milton and he just could never put it together in three years in the program. Why is everyone so sure Nico would have but these other highly ranked guys couldn't. Why do we need to go get some "proven guy" with maybe a year under his belt in a different system to come in and start over a guy who will have been here a year and a half by the time the season starts. So basically if your not a five start you need at least three years in the system to be good? It's like people wanting you to have experience for the job but if you never get the opportunity to get experience how can you ever prove yourself? I'm just so sick of this narrative that they will be this huge drop off from Nico. I'm not buying it. They can do good. They can lead us to wins. Why in the world would you come here as a highly ranked QB if you couldn't do the job. Why did we bring them in if they can't do the job? How many great QBs have we seen that were ranked where those two were out of high school or lower. Why can't they do it? Why do they need to sit three years before they can do it? Sorry I'll quit ranting. These guys can produce this year. I believe it. I hope one of them goes out and proves absolutely everyone wrong. Go Vols!

Here it is in a nutshell. Here in VN we have some fans that have seen them in very limited action and they just assume neither are ready. GMac does need weight but I fully think Merk is ready to take the reins. People seem to forget that Merk had a pretty successful HS career and he is more athletic than Nico.

 

[hndog609]

Can someone please explain to me why it seems like both national media and local media think there is just no way that a redshirt freshman who was the 13th best QB or true freshman who was 17th best QB just don't stand a chance this year? I get that they are "unproven" but I mean did Nico really prove much last year? His numbers were not great and everyone would point to that. Did he have the physical tools? Sure, but so did Joe Milton and he just could never put it together in three years in the program. Why is everyone so sure Nico would have but these other highly ranked guys couldn't. Why do we need to go get some "proven guy" with maybe a year under his belt in a different system to come in and start over a guy who will have been here a year and a half by the time the season starts. So basically if your not a five start you need at least three years in the system to be good? It's like people wanting you to have experience for the job but if you never get the opportunity to get experience how can you ever prove yourself? I'm just so sick of this narrative that they will be this huge drop off from Nico. I'm not buying it. They can do good. They can lead us to wins. Why in the world would you come here as a highly ranked QB if you couldn't do the job. Why did we bring them in if they can't do the job? How many great QBs have we seen that were ranked where those two were out of high school or lower. Why can't they do it? Why do they need to sit three years before they can do it? Sorry I'll quit ranting. These guys can produce this year. I believe it. I hope one of them goes out and proves absolutely everyone wrong. Go Vols!

Things like "can" and "might" are dubious business for the single most important position on the field and zero experience. It's really that simple. Who knows, one of them may actually beat out whoever we bring in after fall practice. Having to rely on inexperience isn't a great position to be in.

 

[gobigorange91]

Opinions on VN are that Nico was "mid" yet Merk last year and through Spring practices couldn't separate himself and surpass Nico.

G-Mac in Spring practice seemed no better than Merk and has zero snaps in a college game as of yet.

There's a whole contingent saying Nico was the 9th best QB in the SEC last year yet neither Merk nor G-Mac could blow him away in practice.

Ask yourself, why couldn't Merk, at least, distinguish himself above Nico if Nico is the 9th best QB in the SEC?

Do you really think given the hype, money, time, and effort they were just going to give up on him? Not a chance. There was never any competition. It was always Nico's job. And he wasn't horrible. But we also sat and watched Milton win out over Hooker and had Milton never got hurt we wouldn't have seen Hooker. So I just don't think that is a good argument.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

Opinions on VN are that Nico was "mid" yet Merk last year and through Spring practices couldn't separate himself and surpass Nico.

G-Mac in Spring practice seemed no better than Merk and has zero snaps in a college game as of yet.

There's a whole contingent saying Nico was the 9th best QB in the SEC last year yet neither Merk nor G-Mac could blow him away in practice.

Ask yourself, why couldn't Merk, at least, distinguish himself above Nico if Nico is the 9th best QB in the SEC?

Was there ever a real QB competitor between Merk and Nico though? I mean a serious one? I highly doubt it. Most knew Nico was gonna be the man regardless after Milton left. With all Heupel put into getting Nico, we all know Heupel is loyal to his QB of choice. So your argument doesn’t really hold weight.

 

[joevol33]

Because, despite other schools having had trye freshman, or redshirt freshman, start and do well, it's impossible to happen at Tennessee. It's science or something.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

Things like "can" and "might" are dubious business for the single most important position on the field and zero experience. It's really that simple. Who knows, one of them may actually beat out whoever we bring in after fall practice. Having to rely on inexperience isn't a great position to be in.

But you could say the exact same thing about an experienced transfer. An experienced transfer can come in here and win the job and he might be great. But there is no guarantee he comes in and performs better than Maerk who has been in the system over a year.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

Do you really think given the hype, money, time, and effort they were just going to give up on him? Not a chance. There was never any competition. It was always Nico's job. And he wasn't horrible. But we also sat and watched Milton win out over Hooker and had Milton never got hurt we wouldn't have seen Hooker. So I just don't think that is a good argument.

You're making the case that Heupel is too weak to play the best players because of hype or not a good enough QB judge to know which QB is best.

If that's your case, fine..... but that means our issues are much greater than who starts at QB.

 

[bpalmer28]

Here it is in a nutshell. Here in VN we have some fans that have seen them in very limited action and they just assume neither are ready. GMac does need weight but I fully think Merk is ready to take the reins. People seem to forget that Merk had a pretty successful HS career and he is more athletic than Nico.

Why do you find it acceptable to assume Merk is ready but not ok for others to assume he's not?

 

[NCFisher]

Can someone please explain to me why it seems like both national media and local media think there is just no way that a redshirt freshman who was the 13th best QB or true freshman who was 17th best QB just don't stand a chance this year? I get that they are "unproven" but I mean did Nico really prove much last year? His numbers were not great and everyone would point to that. Did he have the physical tools? Sure, but so did Joe Milton and he just could never put it together in three years in the program. Why is everyone so sure Nico would have but these other highly ranked guys couldn't. Why do we need to go get some "proven guy" with maybe a year under his belt in a different system to come in and start over a guy who will have been here a year and a half by the time the season starts. So basically if your not a five start you need at least three years in the system to be good? It's like people wanting you to have experience for the job but if you never get the opportunity to get experience how can you ever prove yourself? I'm just so sick of this narrative that they will be this huge drop off from Nico. I'm not buying it. They can do good. They can lead us to wins. Why in the world would you come here as a highly ranked QB if you couldn't do the job. Why did we bring them in if they can't do the job? How many great QBs have we seen that were ranked where those two were out of high school or lower. Why can't they do it? Why do they need to sit three years before they can do it? Sorry I'll quit ranting. These guys can produce this year. I believe it. I hope one of them goes out and proves absolutely everyone wrong. Go Vols!

Because good and experienced beats good and inexperienced 10 out of 10. The two have few game snaps and practically no snaps with 1st team, as Nico was getting those. QB and Center are probably the primary positions you don't want to force a fit if you can help it. The portal may allow not forcing it, so why would you not exercise that option?

If TN can bring in a ringer, that guy may be headed to the league next season anyway, and you buy time for your guys with no meaningful snaps. Heupel is being paid nicely to make the decision in best interest of the program. If he decides to go big in the portal, why would you have a problem with that? If he looks at his bench and says 'we need a starter', what's the problem?

 

[gobigorange91]

You're making the case that Heupel is too weak to play the best players because of hype or not a good enough QB judge to know which QB is best.

If that's your case, fine..... but that means our issues are much greater than who starts at QB.

I'm not saying that he is too weak. I'm not saying I wouldn't have made the same decision. We all know there can be guys who don't practice well and show out on the field, and I think alot think that was the case with Hooker. I'm just saying your argument that he couldn't beat out Nico isn't a strong one. And pointing to a case a few years ago where that happened and an injury cause a major shift in our program. Heupel is great but he isn't perfect. He isn't always going to make the right call. That also doesn't mean he is weak.

 

[gobigorange91]

Because good and experienced beats good and inexperienced 10 out of 10. The two have few game snaps and practically no snaps with 1st team, as Nico was getting those. QB and Center are probably the primary positions you don't want to force a fit if you can help it. The portal may allow not forcing it, so why would you not exercise that option?

If TN can bring in a ringer, that guy may be headed to the league next season anyway, and you buy time for your guys with no meaningful snaps. Heupel is being paid nicely to make the decision in best interest of the program. If he decides to go big in the portal, why would you have a problem with that? If he looks at his bench and says 'we need a starter', what's the problem?

If he makes that choice i'll support it. Just once again how do these guys we bring in ever get experience? Each year even leading up to their senior year will be the same excuse. They have no expereience. So where are they supposed to get it?

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

Was there ever a real QB competitor between Merk and Nico though? I mean a serious one? I highly doubt it. Most knew Nico was gonna be the man regardless after Milton left. With all Heupel put into getting Nico, we all know Heupel is loyal to his QB of choice. So your argument doesn’t really hold weight.

Again, you're saying Heupel either can't or won't ACTUALLY evaluate talent fairly. You're saying Heupel is too prideful in his choices or wearing blinders with his choice to play the best players.

That's a much larger problem than a starting QB.

 

[FranklinVFL]

Opinions on VN are that Nico was "mid" yet Merk last year and through Spring practices couldn't separate himself and surpass Nico.

G-Mac in Spring practice seemed no better than Merk and has zero snaps in a college game as of yet.

There's a whole contingent saying Nico was the 9th best QB in the SEC last year yet neither Merk nor G-Mac could blow him away in practice.

Ask yourself, why couldn't Merk, at least, distinguish himself above Nico if Nico is the 9th best QB in the SEC?

There actually could be a lot of explanation for that....how much did each practice with the 1's vs. the 2's and 3's? Was practice time split evenly between the three? or was it 50%/25%/25%? I mean, just because they did not 'surpass' Nico does not mean they are no better....Hooker could not surpass Milton in practice either....from what I remember.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

I'm not saying that he is too weak. I'm not saying I wouldn't have made the same decision. We all know there can be guys who don't practice well and show out on the field, and I think alot think that was the case with Hooker. I'm just saying your argument that he couldn't beat out Nico isn't a strong one. And pointing to a case a few years ago where that happened and an injury cause a major shift in our program. Heupel is great but he isn't perfect. He isn't always going to make the right call. That also doesn't mean he is weak.

An exact quote from you:

"Do you really think given the hype, money, time, and effort they were just going to give up on him? Not a chance. There was never any competition. It was always Nico's job."

You're exactly saying Heupel wasn't going to change even if he saw he was wrong. What would you call that?

Whatever you call it, it's not very good coaching.

 

[VFL9798]

Go back and look at their recruiting profiles. Both guys had around 30 offers so they were highly recruited but to ask them to be the starter immediately is not always common. Most true freshman will redshirt a year and then sit the bench a year or two before taking the reins which was the vision for these two. Some programs like Nebraska need to start a true freshman because they’re desperate for wins … but for a program like Tennessee, we need a guy with experience to deliver success immediately. Big reason why Josh Heupel recruited Hendon and Joe his first year so he wouldn’t have to play Harrison Bailey

 

[hndog609]

But you could say the exact same thing about an experienced transfer. An experienced transfer can come in here and win the job and he might be great. But there is no guarantee he comes in and performs better than Maerk who has been in the system over a year.

I'm not sure you read my post correctly. Note the boldened.

Things like "can" and "might" are dubious business for the single most important position on the field and zero experience. It's really that simple. Who knows, one of them may actually beat out whoever we bring in after fall practice. Having to rely on inexperience isn't a great position to be in.

See, when you cite "an experienced transfer" it sets itself apart (literally by definition) in comparison to someone "inexperienced", right? Also please note the underlined above. Even in what you quoted I set aside that it's possible experience in and of itself in a transfer might not be enough but having to RELY on inexperience isn't something any coach (or fanbase) I can think of would prefer.

 

[gobigorange91]

Again, you're saying Heupel either can't or won't ACTUALLY evaluate talent fairly. You're saying Heupel is too prideful in his choices or wearing blinders with his choice to play the best players.

That's a much larger problem than a starting QB.

No, i'm not. Nico had more talent. Nico wasn't awful, also wasn't great. But when last season was he supposed to pull the plug on him? Three games in? Six Games? I'm not arguing that at all. I'm not saying if Nico was still on the team you play Merk starting off. You have to give time for guys to get experience and develop. That's my whole argument here. If you say these guys need experience but you bring in someone else to start when will they get it? Will you say the same thing about the kid coming in next year who is the #1 QB? When do they get to develop and get this experience that is so crucial to everyone? I'm not saying experience isn't important i'm just advocating for them to get it. Otherwise what is the point of bringing in highly recruited guys?