Analyst: Vols' signee Merklinger 'most efficient' QB in 2024 cycle
Tennessee introduced 27 players to their 2024 class on Wednesday, including four-star Calvary Day School (Ga.) standout quarterback Jake Merklinger. Volquest caught up with On3 Director of Scouting and Rankings Charles Power to get his thoughts on Merklinger’s fit and more.
“Landing a player like him after Nico (Iamaleava), fairly different skillsets, but you can make them both work in Josh Heupel’s offense,” Power said. It is hard to go back to back-to-back blue-chip prospects at quarterback, especially after you land a five-star and number one prospect in the country.”
Merklinger is an undoubted blue-chip land for the Vols, and Power believes he was the most efficient passer in the 2024 cycle.
“I think starting off with Merklinger, he is a guy who knows where to go with the ball,” Power said of this. “I think he has a case as the most efficient high school quarterback of this group. He is a different prospect from Nico, right? He is not going to blow you away physically, but he has really good timing. The game move slows for him. I think he is a really sound decision-maker. I think if you look at the stats and production, he was over 13 yards an attempt as a senior. I think he had 38 touchdowns to two picks. Just extremely efficient, and he is doing it by making chunk throws down the field. He is not a guy who had a bunch of padded stats from a quick-game perspective. He is throwing the ball down the field with timing and accuracy. I think there is a place for guys like that in Josh Heupel’s scheme. I think as you surround him with playmakers, he is a guy who can come in and play well.”
Power went on to name Merklinger as the most efficient passer in the class in his Quarterback superlatives for the 2024 class.
“Other prospects may be more impressive from an arm talent and athletic perspective, but few operate a high school offense in a more efficient manner than Jake Merklinger,” Power said in the write up. “The Tennessee signee has a very good feel for the game and is able to throw with accuracy and timing for chunk yardage. He didn’t throw a ton of passes at Savannah (Ga.) Calvary Day relative to his peers, but was deadly when he did – completing 72.1% of his passes for 3,028 yards and 38 touchdowns against just two interceptions. His 13.4 yards per attempt and passer rating of 238.4 is among the best in the cycle.”
Merklinger’s career has already started as a Vol, and Josh Heupel shared his early impressions of the new signee during his Wednesday press conference.
“He’s going to have to grow really quickly,” Heupel said. “He’ll get spoon-fed as we start here in January and grow into spring football. Smart, competitive, and has good fundamentals. We have to refine some of those things. He’s already been working on those things since he set foot on campus. His football IQ, ability to retain information and process out on the football field. He’s a winner, he’s competitive and has the right make-up.”
Merklinger is currently rated as the No.148 overall prospect and No.10 QB in the 2024 class, according to the On3 Industry Rankings.
