Vols senior details how one of Tennessee's quarterbacks is 'calling people out at practice'

Tennessee Vols senior tight end Miles Kitselman confirmed this week at SEC Media Days in Atlanta that UT's offense was missing strong vocal leadership last season. 

"I think that's probably the biggest thing we were missing last year," said Kitselman during an appearance on 104.5 The Zone's 3HL. "You know, you come off a drive, go three-and-out, go three-and-out again, and it's like, where's the voice on this team?"

With last year's starter Nico Iamaleava off to UCLA, redshirt freshman quarterback Jake Merklinger is blossoming as a vocal leader this summer, according to Kitselman. 

"You've seen a lot of growth from Jake," said Kitselman during an appearance on WNML. "He has really stepped into that leadership role. He's super vocal. He comes to work every single day, so he has that ability to be vocal with guys.

"Jake's acting like a vet right now, calling people out at practice, [holding] people up to the standard. And he's being super vocal right now. Him and Joey (Aguilar) are both taking this team by the reins. And both of them are just acting like they're the starters right now. And I love it."

Merklinger is battling UCLA transfer Joey Aguilar and true freshman George MacIntyre for the Vols' starting quarterback job. 

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel told reporters at SEC Media Days that he doesn't have a set timeline for naming a starter. 

"We don’t have a set timeline on when we want to announce somebody as our starter," said Heupel. "Once somebody earns that opportunity, then they’ll be named the guy."

Tennessee starts fall practice on July 30. The Vols' first game of the 2025 season is on August 30 against Syracuse.