“I’m not naming a starter today alright?” Josh Heupel said with a chuckle. The kind that lets you know he’s not budging, not yet anyways. The first scrimmage of Tennessee’s fall camp came and went inside a closed-off Neyland Stadium on August 9. And while nobody in orange left with a guaranteed QB1 label, the race is getting spicier. So who’s getting the favor now?

Not so fast. In his appearance with the media after scrimmage, Josh Heupel insists all three contenders, Joey Aguilar, Jake Merklinger, and George MacIntyre, are still very much in the running. “All three of those guys have shown some really good characteristics of doing some special things with the b–l, also managing the game, eliminating negatives,” he said on Tennessee Football Volquest on August 9. “There’s some things that each of them and collectively as a group we got to get better at, and that’s always the nature of it at this point in training camp.” But he did have some good things to say about Joey Aguilar. 

Heading into fall camp, the QB chatter was all Joey Aguilar vs. Jake Merklinger. The former, who started 24 games at Appalachian State and threw for 6,760 yards and 56 TDs in two seasons before transferring to Tennessee, has the resume edge. Josh Heupel praised his summer learning curve. “With what we’re doing offensively in our installs, from protections to run game, controlling it, and what he’s seen on the other side of the football, how multiple we’ve been here in the early part of training camp,” he said. “I really like overall what he’s done. There’s still more for him within the structure and the details of it. But I like what he’s done.” 

Meanwhile, Jake Merklinger was penciled as Nico Iamaleava‘s backup until he packed for UCLA. The redshirt freshman didn’t blink when the Vols brought Joey Aguilar to Knoxville. “I have always tried to have a pretty good mindset,” he said before heading into Tennessee fall camp. “A mindset of working hard, doing what I can to help my teammates and help this team win.” Last season, he made two game appearances and recorded 48 yards. And what about the freshman competition?

A dark horse emerging in George MacIntyre 

In an episode on The House of Orange Sports Channel, Frank Rock dropped a key takeaway from Tennessee football scrimmage 1. “George MacIntyre was the accurate and best quarterback on the day,” he said. “Now, it said most of his work was against the twos and the threes, but production is production.” George MacIntyre, the in-state 6’6, 195-pound freshman phenom, and a 4-star with a basketball player’s vision, was reportedly the most accurate passer in scrimmage. He added that Joey Aguilar is lagging behind as the second most accurate of the day. He also allegedly threw a pick-six.

The buzz says George MacIntyre has been more poised than his age suggests. Josh Heupel admitted they “challenged him post-spring” on fundamentals and physical growth, and so far, he’s checked both boxes. “He’s had good presence, good control of what we’re doing,” he said. “There’s some areas that he’s going to have to continue grow in. But I really like what George has done so far.” The freshman still needs bulk and polish. But his football DNA, grandson of a Vanderbilt coach and nephew of a former FBS head man, is starting to show.

If this is truly an open competition, Josh Heupel may have no choice but to reshuffle the reps and see if the kid can hang with the ones. With three weeks until the Aug. 30 opener against Syracuse in Atlanta, Tennessee’s QB room is less a pecking order and more a poker table with three cards face-down and nobody folding yet. The HC is not tipping his hand. Because in Knoxville right now, the only sure thing is that nothing is sure.