Josh Heupel shares how the presence of Landry Jones, Seth Littrell helps Tennessee quarterback battle

Tennessee‘s quarterback job surprisingly opened up following the shocking departure of Nico Iamaleava in the spring. Iamaleava, who led the Volunteers to the College Football Playoff last season, darted for UCLA after just one season as the starter in Knoxville.

This has led to a quarterback battle between Appalachian State/UCLA transfer Joey Aguilar, Jake Merklinger and freshman George MacIntyre. Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel has been receiving help from fellow former Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones and former North Texas head coach Seth Littrell, who are both offensive analysts on the Tennessee staff.

Heupel discussed the impact those two coaches bring to the quarterback battle on Wednesday.

“Guys that have been head coaches (referring to Littrell) are certainly a help to me,” Heupel said. “I say that because they’ve got a different perspective. As you bring them in, they get a chance to hear something for the first time. Maybe it’s a tweak to how you’re doing things or if you’re communicating something and it has a chance to inch-by-inch get you a little bit better.

“You mentioned specifically Landry [Jones]… his familiarity with some of our staff and some of the things that we do. His experience, NFL, fundamentals, technique and how to prepare during the course of game week but the lead up to where we are today with constant growth. He was a pro because of who he was and how he handled himself every single day in the journey he went through as a player to become that. I think those are all extremely valuable lessons to all the guys we have inside of that room.”

Aguilar is seen as frontrunner for Tennessee QB1 job

It’s currently a three-man race in Tennessee’s quarterback room, but Aguilar is seen as the frontrunner. He transferred to Tennessee this offseason from UCLA after Iamaleava joined the Bruins, essentially completing a college football trade.

Aguilar has more experience than any of his competition for the position. He spent two seasons as Appalachian State’s starting quarterback before transferring to UCLA. In the 2024 campaign, he tallied 3,003 passing yards and 23 touchdowns, compared to 14 interceptions.

Redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger is widely considered the greatest threat to Aguilar securing the QB1 title. Merklinger was a four-star prospect in the 2024 recruiting cycle and had a solid showing in Tennessee’s spring game.

While he lacks game experience, he’s had more time than Aguilar to soak in Tennessee’s offensive schemes. True freshman George MacIntyre is the final quarterback in the hunt for the Volunteers’ starting slot behind center. He was the No. 15 quarterback in the 2025 recruiting cycle, but is considered the least likely to land the coveted starting spot.

“When they got back in the summer, they understood this isn’t something that’s going to be decided in June,” Heupel said about the battle. “It’s not going to be decided in July. Got to go earn it and take it during the course of training camp.

“Everything that you do is a part of who you are as a player, but also how you’re impacting and ultimately making the 10 guys around you better too. As we go through training camp, those conversations will be had with, collectively, the group as well, so that they can see that it’s transparent, it’s real, and there’s no misinformation.”

Tennessee opens its 2025 campaign on Aug. 30 against Syracuse in the Aflac Kick-off Game.

On3’s Grant Grubbs contributed to this article.