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Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel's off-season message is simple -- go

On3 imageby: Brent Hubbs05/01/25Brent_Hubbs
josh heupel
Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel’s message to his quarterbacks is really the game message for his entire football game — that message is get going. 

Heupel’s fifth squad at Tennessee has talent. It’s also young especially on offense. There will be four new starters on the offensive line. The receiver room returns one player who has logged meaningful snaps and the quarterback room is as young as any. The result is a back to basics approach to start summer for the players and the coaching staff. 

“When we start in the beginning stages of the summer, you’ve got to start at ground zero and you’ve got to continue to build,” Heupel said Wednesday night at the Big Orange Caravan in Nashville. “The players have got to put in a bunch of time, too. That’s part of their road map to get where they need to be by the time that we get to training camp — not just kickoff. There’s a spot you’ve got to be when you get to training camp. We’ve had our exit meetings with our guys, and we’ve got a clear road map for all those guys, and now they’ve got to go chase it every day.”

The story line of that chase will revolve around the quarterback room that features transfer Joey Aguilar, redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger and freshman George MacIntyre. Merklinger played in mop up duty in two games last year and MacIntyre should be getting ready for the prom. Aguilar has experience as a two year starter at Appalachian State, but Tennessee’s offense is brand new and his not in Knoxville yet. 

“I’m excited about the guys that are in the room — highly competitive. They’re smart. There’s a lot of growth that goes in where we’re at as a position room and individually where they need to get to before we get to training camp,” Heupel explained. “Joey (Aguilar), obviously, got to get him here and start the process of learning everything that we do, from fundamentals to scheme to what he’d see on the defensive side of the ball and matching all those things. Our young quarterbacks, Jake (Merklinger) and George (MacIntyre), are going to continue to grow in that process, as well.”

From an experience stand point Aguilar’s growth is further along than the other two which is one of the they thanks that Heupel liked about the UCLA transfer. 

“He’s got experience in it, and then you look at the traits of the player. He’s got the ability to push the ball down the field. There’s some things fundamentally that I think he can continue to grow in that will elevate his game — consistency. He’s got the ability to stand and make plays outside of the pocket, and can use him in the run game, too. Those are traits that we feel like we try to recruit to and that we have inside of the room.”

As Tennessee players wrap up school in the next two weeks and the focus shifts to the summer grind, the message is clear go seize the opportunity. 

“At the end of the day, it’s every player’s responsibility to learn it, earn it and take the job. And that’s always true for anybody. There’s nothing good or bad from the previous year that comes forward with you. Those three guys are going to embark on that. As a quarterback, the extra piece of it is you’ve got to develop respect and trust and expectations from the guys around you, too, and that’s a part of the guys who are the trigger guy.”

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