ESPN thinks a QB currently on the Tennessee Vols' roster will enter the NCAA transfer portal before the 2026 season

ESPN's Tom Luginbill thinks a quarterback that's currently on the Tennessee Vols' roster will likely enter the NCAA transfer portal before the start of the 2026 season. 

Luginbill made the comment while discussing 2026 five-star Vols quarterback commit Faizon Brandon. 

"By the time [Brandon] arrives on campus, it's likely at least one quarterback currently on the Tennessee roster will have hit the transfer portal," wrote Luginbill on Tuesday. 

The Vols currently have three scholarship quarterbacks on their roster -- UCLA transfer Joey Aguilar, redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger, and true freshman George MacIntyre. 

2025 will be Aguilar's final season of eligibility, so he won't be an option for the transfer portal in 2026. 

That leaves Merklinger and MacIntyre. 

I think Luginbill is probably right that one of those two quarterbacks will enter the transfer portal before the 2026 season with Brandon -- the No. 1 quarterback in the nation -- on his way to Knoxville. 

But as of right now, there's no way to predict which one it will be. 

If Aguilar wins the starting quarterback job in 2025, and plays well, then I could see it being Merklinger who enters the portal (in that situation, we'd likely see MacIntyre start at quarterback in 2026 while being pushed by Brandon). 

But if Merklinger ends up being the starting quarterback at Tennessee this fall, then I could see it being MacIntyre (in this scenario, Merklinger starts at quarterback in 2026 while being pushed by Brandon). 

It's certainly possible that neither Merklinger nor MacIntyre enters the transfer portal, but that seems unlikely, given that there will likely be plenty of NIL cash tossed their way. If one of those quarterbacks is on the outside looking in and gets a big offer, it'll be tough for him to turn it down.

If I had to guess, I’d bet on Merklinger being the one who leaves Tennessee after 2025. But that’s purely speculation. It all depends on how things play out at the quarterback position for the Volunteers this fall.