KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel gave his quarterbacks the news together.
Joey Aguilar will be the starter for the Vols’ season-opener, he told the three who were vying for the position. Heupel knew the decision would bring heartache and disappointment — as a former quarterback himself who had been on both sides of decisions.
Jake Merklinger, a redshirt sophomore who had been with Tennessee out of high school, and freshman George MacIntyre had been beat by transfer Aguilar. The decision quickly made its way to social media.
“It was a tough decision for us,” Heupel said. “We talked about it with those guys. I think the transparency of that breeds confidence in what they’re all hearing at the same time. At the same time, through that night, there’s a pain of disappointment. And coming the next day, you got to find a way to be a great teammate. Be the same guy that you have (been), continue to compete.
“You name a starter but you never know when your opportunity is coming. This message was given to those guys as we sat in the room together, it was given to the entire team, too. You’ve got to prepare yourself for when your opportunity is going to come to take advantage of that.”
Aguilar boasted the only starting experience of the three quarterbacks in the competition for the starting job following the departure of Nico Iamaleava to UCLA in the offseason.
Aguilar had transferred from Appalachian State to UCLA in December, after throwing for 6,760 yards, 56 touchdowns and 24 interceptions while a member of the Mountaineers. Over that time, he started 24 games for App State.
“I think Joey, coming in May, having to learn the offense throughout the late spring summertime, getting his feet on the grass with our guys, learning how we practice, but also growing each day just continued to trend upward in his comfort and control and command of what we’re doing,” Heupel said. “That’s decision making, accuracy with the football, our checks that he controls, you put all that together and that’s ultimately why we made the decision.”
Aguilar will be on an offense with four new offensive linemen, a new starter at running back and two new receivers.
The offense will have new faces and a lot of talent on the field, and Heupel said there may be changes to the offense depending on personnel and the skill positions on the field. He wants his new quarterback to be transparent about where he is confident.
Some things you can’t learn until those young, or new, players step onto the field in the spotlight. There will be a lot of that for the Vols’ offense this season.
“You’ve got to be elite in your ability to teach and help these guys grow through every phase of our off-season,” Heupel said. “And our staff has done a great job. Our young guys have been highly competitive, highly diligent in their ability to grow every single day.
“We’re not a finished product. Good teams continue to get better throughout the course of the year. You’ve got to take advantage of it every day. But our young guys have prepared in a really good way and I think they’re extremely confident right now. And there’s a lot of growth that’s got to happen before first kickoff, certainly, but if they continue to attack it, we’ll be ready to go play.”
