Tennessee Football: Breaking down commitment of 4-star QB Jake Merklinger

Tennessee football landed another talented quarterback on Thursday thanks to the commitment of Jake Merklinger. 

For the second recruiting class in a row, the Tennessee football team has landed a high-level quarterback, which isn’t an easy thing to do.

In the 2023 recruiting class, it was Nico Iamaleava who was ranked 3rd overall according to the 247 sports composite rankings and the No. 2 QB behind Arch Manning.

After getting a quarterback like that, it can be tough to land another elite quarterback and while Merklinger is the sixth-ranked quarterback in the 2024 class, as well as the 55th-ranked player overall according to the 247 sports composite rankings, he hasn’t gotten as much attention as he probably should.

Merklinger is 6-foot-3, 195 pounds out of Savannah, Georgia. It did seem like Georgia was going to make a stronger push. North Carolina was also in the mix along with Michigan State and UGA.

The Bulldogs already have a four-star quarterback committed in Ryan Puglisi, so there is no reason for Georgia to panic and the Bulldogs are also still firmly in the mix for Dylan Raiola, who is the top-ranked passer in the 2024 class.

Still, this is a big addition for Tennessee football. It gives the Vols another really talented quarterback to develop, as well as proper depth. Merklinger is likely going to have to wait for Iamaleava to finish his career and hopefully go to the NFL.

That’s got to be the plan at any rate. But injuries happen and you always need depth. Also, landing top-60 quarterbacks in back-to-back classes are things that elite programs do such as Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Ohio State, and USC, which have all done it in recent years.

In the big picture, it also is another favorable sign for the Michigan Wolverines when it comes to Jadyn Davis as the Vols were a finalist for him too.

Josh Heupel is showing once again that he’s one of the best up-and-coming head coaches in college football. Teams that recruit elite quarterbacks generally win big and Tennessee football is in a position to do that after another big commitment at quarterback.