'24 GA QB Jake Merklinger (Tennessee)

#226
#226
vol_in_ga said:
Why would it?
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Because they’re from the same state, likely know each other, and great players like playing with other great players, especially QBs. Highly rated QBs tend to draw other highly rated commits.

The answer may be no, but let’s not act like it’s not a valid question.
 
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#227
#227
GregAmsler said:
Because they’re from the same state, likely know each other, and great players like playing with other great players, especially QBs. Highly rated QBs tends to draw other highly rated commits.

The answer may be no, but let’s not act like it’s not a valid question.
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They live 4 hours away from each other so probably not that big of a deal.
 
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#228
#228
If Tennessee can land Merklinger, we have 2 scholarship QBs for 2024: Nico and Jake. I’d be selling JM on the notion of redshirting, though, so as to put 2 years between him and Nico, eligibility-wise. That way, when Nico is a true Junior, JM is a redshirt freshman. And if Nico leaves early for the NFL (likely), JM starts as a redshirt sophomore, with 3 years of eligibility remaining. If Nico stays as a senior, JM starts as a redshirt Junior with 2 years of eligibility.

Might be tough to pull off a redshirt in 2024 with only 2 QBs, but barring injury, it can be done. JM can play in 4 games in mop up duty without burning his redshirt. You could also play Gaston Moore in mop up duty, if needed, to preserve JM’s redshirt. So effectively, JM is the next man up if Nico is injured, but Moore is the next man up if you just need mop up.
 
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#229
#229
GregAmsler said:
Because they’re from the same state, likely know each other, and great players like playing with other great players, especially QBs. Highly rated QBs tend to draw other highly rated commits.

The answer may be no, but let’s not act like it’s not a valid question.
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Some of you are not from Georgia and it shows. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

I’d venture to guess they’ve actually never met each other. And would think Nico being here is more of an attraction than merklinger, no offense to him.
 
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#230
#230
GregAmsler said:
If Tennessee can land Merklinger, we have 2 scholarship QBs for 2024: Nico and Jake. I’d be selling JM on the notion of redshirting, though, so as to put 2 years between him and Nico, eligibility-wise. That way, when Nico is a true Junior, JM is a redshirt freshman. And if Nico leaves early for the NFL (likely), JM starts as a redshirt sophomore, with 3 years of eligibility remaining. If Nico stays as a senior, JM starts as a redshirt Junior with 2 years of eligibility.

Might be tough to pull off a redshirt in 2024 with only 2 QBs, but barring injury, it can be done. JM can play in 4 games in mop up duty without burning his redshirt. You could also play Gaston Moore in mop up duty, if needed, to preserve JM’s redshirt. So effectively, JM is the next man up if Nico is injured, but Moore is the next man up if you just need mop up.
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When I read that, I hear “you’re going to recruit over me”, not “I can start in 3-4 years”.

Instead, Id sell him on immediate limited playing time and one Nico injury away from being the starter at a big time sec school with an offense-friendly coach.
 
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#231
#231
vol_in_ga said:
Some of you are not from Georgia and it shows. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

I’d venture to guess they’ve actually never met each other. And would think Nico being here is more of an attraction than merklinger, no offense to him.
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No, I’m not from Georgia. But highly rated recruits tend to know each other. They don’t have to be from the same state. National camp circuits have created relationships that wouldn’t have existed 20 years ago. Hubbs has talked about this very thing, as nauseum.

Again, JM may not affect the other two, but it’s not a stupid question. Hell, Nico was a pull for Mauigoa and they were on opposite ends of the country. It wasn’t ultimately enough to land FM, but it was a well-documented plus for Tennessee.
 
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#232
#232
vol_in_ga said:
When I read that, I hear “you’re going to recruit over me”, not “I can start in 3-4 years”.

Instead, Id sell him on immediate limited playing time and one Nico injury away from being the starter at a big time sec school with an offense-friendly coach.
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That’s the opposite of saying I’m going to recruit over you. That’s saying I’m preserving more of your eligibility so you don’t have to beat out the guy with seniority (and more experience) in order to start 2-3 years…Just as I don’t expect a younger guy to beat you out when you have seniority over him.
 
#235
#235
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#236
#236
vol_in_ga said:
When I read that, I hear “you’re going to recruit over me”, not “I can start in 3-4 years”.

Instead, Id sell him on immediate limited playing time and one Nico injury away from being the starter at a big time sec school with an offense-friendly coach.
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A RS isn't what it used to be. JM could play 4 games and preserve his RS. If Nico performs as many expect then JM is a RS Soph when he gets his shot to start. If Nico does not perform at that level or gets hurt then JM gets a shot even earlier.

This is not a bad deal for him. There are a number of ways he can make it work very well. If it doesn't then the purpose of the portal is to let guys rectify bad decisions.
 
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#239
#239
GregAmsler said:
If Tennessee can land Merklinger, we have 2 scholarship QBs for 2024: Nico and Jake. I’d be selling JM on the notion of redshirting, though, so as to put 2 years between him and Nico, eligibility-wise. That way, when Nico is a true Junior, JM is a redshirt freshman. And if Nico leaves early for the NFL (likely), JM starts as a redshirt sophomore, with 3 years of eligibility remaining. If Nico stays as a senior, JM starts as a redshirt Junior with 2 years of eligibility.

Might be tough to pull off a redshirt in 2024 with only 2 QBs, but barring injury, it can be done. JM can play in 4 games in mop up duty without burning his redshirt. You could also play Gaston Moore in mop up duty, if needed, to preserve JM’s redshirt. So effectively, JM is the next man up if Nico is injured, but Moore is the next man up if you just need mop up.
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I would imagine they go through the math, but I would tell him if you want to be the first round pick in the NFL you need to be the best QB and part of that is beating out top competition on your own team. Best players play regardless of class and recruiting rankings. Nico doesn't have 2 to 3 years of starting locked up, but there's a good chance he earns it.
 
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#247
#247
vol_in_ga said:
Some of you are not from Georgia and it shows. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

I’d venture to guess they’ve actually never met each other. And would think Nico being here is more of an attraction than merklinger, no offense to him.
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I don’t think the fact that they are 4 hours from each other makes any difference here. Top players travel all over the place these days for 7on7 tournaments, camps, etc. I’m not saying they know each other well, but I would venture to say they have met before.
 
#249
#249
thunder5 said:
I would never have bet that we'd get a QB of this caliber a year after landing Nico...it's an amazing pull by our staff if this ends up being true
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its a huge, program stabilizing get. massive. Regardless of Nico's ability, our QB room is THIN, and transfer qb's are the toughest to evaluate. We are an injury away in 2 years from needing quality depth. Let's face it, we are TN and injuries do not go our way.

Will also secure us a top 3 WR class which we will need every year as long as we run this system imo. If the Cutter Boley rumors are true as well, it looks like we are setting ourselves up for a hell of a QBU run in the 2020's...
 
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