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Tennessee offers 2024 4-star QB Jake Merklinger

PeterWarrenPhoto2by: Peter Warren05/18/22thepeterwarren

Savannah (Ga.) Calvary Day School four-star quarterback Jake Merklinger has picked up an offer from Tennessee.

The On3 Consensus — a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies — has Merklinger as the No. 60 recruit in the class.

But On3 ranks him as the No. 15 overall prospect and No. 2 quarterback in the 2024 On300 ranking. The only quarterback ahead of him is Chandler (Ariz.) five-star quarterback and On3’s No. 1 recruit Dylan Raiola.

The most recent edition of the On300 was released this week, and On3 Director of Scouting and Rankings Charles Power explained Merklinger’s rise from No. 24 to No. 15.

“Quarterbacks Jake Merklinger (No. 15) and DJ Lagway (No. 18) also move into the top 20,” Power said. “Merklinger impressed as a sophomore at Savannah (Ga.) Calvary Day with his accuracy, feel and movement skills. Lagway is one of the more physically talented quarterbacks in the class. He is 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds with a quick, big arm.”

Merklinger’s On3 NIL Valuation is currently $82k. The On3 NIL Valuation is an index that looks to set the standard market value for both high school and college-level athletes. The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.

The Volunteers already have a quarterback commit in the 2023 recruiting class in Long Beach (Calif.) Long Beach Poly five-star quarterback Nico Iamaleava.

Iamaleava is a top-five recruit in the 2023 cycle, and his commitment is one of the biggest recruiting stories of the year.

Josh Heupel told On3 Director of Recruiting Chad Simmons that signing a quarterback early in the recruiting process can be a huge boost to the overall class.

“That guy becomes the face of that recruiting class,” Heupel said. “Whoever your starting quarterback, in a lot of ways, becomes the face of your program or your franchise, however, you want to phrase it. That kind of is the spearhead to everything that goes on inside of that recruiting class. Obviously, you got to recruit great players around them. But he has the opportunity and the outreach.