After Tennessee lost at Ohio State in the first round of the College Football Playoff last December, the Volunteers moved forward in the offseason with a quarterback depth chart of Nico Iamaleava, Jake Merklinger and George MacIntyre.
Which lasted until April, of course, when Iamaleava bolted for UCLA after failing to receive an enhanced name, image and likeness deal and was replaced through the NCAA transfer portal by Joey Aguilar.
The Vols have played through their 8-4 regular season with a pecking order of Aguilar, Merklinger and MacIntyre, but that will not be the case in next Tuesday’s Music City Bowl (5:30 p.m. Eastern on ESPN) against Illinois. Merklinger is entering the transfer portal, leaving MacIntyre one snap away from guiding the offense in Nashville.
“I think your entire roster has moving pieces right now,” Tennessee fifth-year coach Josh Heupel said last week in a news conference. “Jake made a choice that he felt like was right for him, and I support him. Jake has been a great teammate while he’s been here, and he’s grown and competed. Obviously, George will be the number two here going into the bowl game.
“As we finish that up and enter into the portal opening up and with everything that’s going on with Joey and all those pieces, we’ll look to put that position together in a room to help us go compete and play for a championship.”
Aguilar is seeking an extra season of eligibility through an NCAA lawsuit, so Tennessee’s only certain scholarship quarterbacks for 2026 are MacIntyre and five-star early enrollee Faizon Brandon of Greensboro, North Carolina.
The 6-foot-6, 195-pound MacIntyre — he struggled to get to 180 pounds during his days at Brentwood Academy — enrolled this past January and went through spring practice. He only competed in two games during the regular season but did capitalize on his limited opportunity.
MacIntyre made his debut in the 72-17 thrashing of East Tennessee State on Sept. 6, completing 6 of 7 passes for 52 yards and leading a fourth-quarter scoring drive. His other appearance occurred during the 42-9 rout of New Mexico State on Nov. 15, when we went 1-of-2 passing for 17 yards.
“He’s just continued to grow and understand things as simple as receiving a signal and being able to communicate it,” Heupel said. “His command of what we’re doing and his decision making have improved, and he’s had a good bowl preparation here as well.
“I look forward to him continuing that as we continue to get closer to game day.”
Vols players are scheduled to arrive in Nashville on Christmas night before holding their first workout Friday morning at Montgomery Bell Academy.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.