What Josh Heupel told Tennessee’s quarterbacks after naming Joey Aguilar the starter

Josh Heupel had been there before, on both sides of the conversation — being named a team’s starting quarterback, or learning that he had lost the competition. That’s why he had all three Tennessee quarterbacks together when he named a starter Sunday night.

“You understand that there’s going to be heartache, disappointment,” Heupel said this week, “and if it’s not that way, then you got a real problem.”

The heartache and disappointment fell to redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger and freshman George MacIntyre, after Heupel and his staff decided on transfer Joey Aguilar as Tennessee’s starting quarterback. 

“It was a tough decision for us,” Heupel said. “We talked about it with those guys.”

And he tried to be honest as possible. 

“I think the transparency of that breeds confidence in what they’re all hearing at the same time,” Heupel said. “And so at the same time, through that night, there’s a pain of disappointment. And coming in the next day, you got to find a way to be a great teammate. Be the same guy that you have (been). Continue to compete.”

Season Opener: Tennessee vs. Syracuse, August 30, Atlanta

Aguilar and Tennessee will start the new season against Syracuse on August 30 in the Aflac Kickoff Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, with kickoff set for Noon Eastern Time on ABC.

Heupel told all three quarterbacks that he appreciated how the battle played out over the summer and during training camp.

“He just told (talked about) the way we competed with each other,” Aguilar said. “There’s two ways you compete with somebody. You can compete and just be solo and not really try to help that other person, or you can compete together and work —iron sharpens iron — and work together to build whoever goes out there to be a starter, even if it was me or somebody else, that we are working together and be as one.”

Merklinger and MacIntyre split reps in the Orange & White Game in April, after Tennessee and Nico Iamaleava parted ways, leading to his transfer to UCLA.

Aguilar threw throwing for 6,760 yards, 56 touchdowns and 24 interceptions over 25 games in two seasons at App State.

Josh Heupel: ‘You name a starter, but you never know when your opportunity is coming’

The Vols added Aguilar out of the portal to replace Iamaleava, after Aguilar had transferred from Appalachian State to UCLA in December. 

Merklinger appeared in two games last season, completing 6 of 9 passes for 48 yards and running seven times for 22 yards. He was a four-star prospect in the 2024 recruiting class, ranked as the No. 12 quarterback nationally and the No. 23 overall prospect in the state of Georgia, out of Calvary Day School in Savannah. 

MacIntyre was a four-star prospect who was a headliner in Tennessee’s 2025 class, ranked as the No. 15 quarterback in the class and the No. 3 in-state prospect, out of Brentwood Academy.

“You name a starter,” Heupel said, “but you never know when your opportunity is coming. This message was given to those guys as we sat in the room together, it was given to the entire team, too. You got to prepare yourself for when your opportunity is going to come to take advantage of that. 

“Merk has been great in the building, energy, focus. George has been the same way. Just want those guys to continue to grow.”