Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar (6) Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel and Tennessee quarterback Jake Merklinger (12) during Tennessee football preseason practice, in Knoxville, Tennessee, July 31, 2025. Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Josh Heupel Talks Tennessee QB Battle After Second Scrimmage

Originally posted on Tennessee Volunteers on SI
By Brooks Austin | Last updated Aug 16, 2025 11:19 AM ET

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel comments on the quarterback battle following their second scrimmage of fall camp.

Friday morning was the second scrimmage of fall camp for the Tennessee Volunteers. As they get set to take on Syracuse in the season opener, the biggest question about this football team is none other than who will it's starting quarterback be?

As we sit just two weeks out from the start of the season, there's a two-man race between Joey Aguilar and Jake Merklinger. Sources have expressed to Vols on SI that Aguilar has a slight lead as camp nears an end.

Here's what head coach Josh Heupel had to say about the battle when speaking to the media on Friday.

“I thought both of them handled themselves extremely well –did as well. I thought they’d taken strides during the last three practices before we got inside of the stadium for today’s scrimmage. We operated with crowd noise and some of those mechanics as well, so there was more on their plate. They’ve handled it well. Been good decision-makers and have continued to grow, both in the understanding of what we’re doing, defense structure and then fundamentally consistently being accurate with the football today. They handled that pretty well throughout the course of it.”

When asked specifically about Joey Aguilar, he noted that he felt he's grown in the comfort and control department.

“I thought he handled himself extremely well. That’s today. I think he’s got better from Day 1 up until today’s scrimmage, really every single day, the comfort and control. He’s handled himself extremely well during our night walk-throughs which is mental focus, mental sweat, and because of that, he’s extremely comfortable in what we’re doing right now.”

Heupel was also asked about his history with quarterbacks having such few interceptions in his system and comparing that to an aggressive quarterback like Aguilar — who has had high turnover rates in years prior.

“You’re going to have to make tight throws. To me, interceptions happen when you don’t understand defensive structure, your eyes aren’t in the right spot, fundamentally your body’s not in the right position, and you’re not accurate with the football. It’s all of those pieces of the puzzle that come together for a quarterback to operate efficiently, take care of the football while still playing on the right side of the fence of being aggressive and allowing yourself to make plays down the football field.”