Tennessee Vols QB will transfer and Josh Heupel probably saw this coming

With the Tennessee Vols getting ready to put the final touches on the 2025 season in the Music City Bowl against Illinois, some head-turning news has come in that will impact the '26 roster. It's that young quarterback Jake Merklinger won't be back in Knoxville next season.

Door officially opens for Tennessee signee to play for Ohio State instead

Moments ago, insider Hayes Fawcett reported that Merklinger is planning to enter the transfer portal once things officially open up in January. Merklinger was expected to potentially compete for the QB1 job next fall, but with Joey Aguilar pushing for an extra season and 5-star QB Faizon Brandon on the way to campus, it felt like the writing was on the wall for him:

Tennessee QB Jake Merklinger is planning to enter the transfer portal

A member of the 2024 class, Merklinger signed with the Vols as a 4-star prospect and the No. 11 quarterback in the country. He chose to play for Tennessee and Josh Heupel over additional offers from Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Miami, Michigan State and many others.

Merklinger saw limited action in his two seasons with the Vols, throwing for 48 yards in 2024. He followed things up with 173 yards and two touchdowns in '25. Earlier this year, reports came in that Tennessee wasn't expecting Merklinger to stick around once January got here.

Now, it looks like he's going to be ready to find a new place to call home soon enough. While this stings, keep in mind that 4-star true freshman QB George MacIntyre is still on campus. He enrolled early and was able to go through spring ball with the Vols leading up to this season.

The future of Aguilar is a bit up in the air, as he indeed is fighting for one extra season of eligibility. If he's successful, he'll be the starter next fall and he'll mentor Brandon before he presumably takes over the job in 2027. There are a lot of moving parts there, but we now know that Merklinger won't be around moving forward.