'I think he's QB 2' - Vols insider answers the question that Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel wouldn't answer before season-opener

Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel played coy Monday when reporters asked who the program’s backup quarterback is entering the 2025 season.

"You guys will find out on Saturday, I guess, when the depth chart comes out," said Heupel when asked who will serve as the primary backup to starting quarterback Joey Aguilar.

Aguilar beat out redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger and true freshman George MacIntyre for the Vols' starting quarterback job during fall camp.

Merklinger has a year of experience in Heupel's system. MacIntyre, however, has the higher ceiling as a quarterback.

VolQuest’s Austin Price joined 104.5 The Zone’s Ramon and Will on Tuesday and, unlike Heupel, shared his thoughts on the backup quarterback job.

Price told Ramon and Will that, as of now, he thinks Merklinger is the No. 2 quarterback.

"I think he's QB 2," said Price of Merklinger. "How long would the leash be (for Merklinger)? Or would they play George right behind him? I think that's probably most likely. I don't think that it's just if Aguilar, for whatever reason, has to come out, Merklinger comes in, and he's just the locked-in guy -- at least for the foreseeable future.

"Now, maybe he's the guy for the game because he's a year older, he's been in the system a little bit longer. But I think absolutely if something happened to Joey Aguilar, that it would be kind of more of an open competition to be Tennessee's starting quarterback for the rest of the year."

It sounds like the Vols' backup quarterback job is far from settled. Merklinger will likely get the first opportunity due to his experience. But if Aguilar were forced to miss an extended period of time, MacIntyre would get a chance to show that he should be the guy.

Tennessee, of course, is hoping Aguilar plays to his potential, stays healthy, and that they don’t have to worry too much about who the backup quarterback is.