UCLA Bruins and Appalachian State Mountaineers transfer Joey Aguilar is the favorite to start at quarterback for Tennessee Football this year, but Josh Heupel has already noted there will be open competition. After all, while Aguilar is the veteran, Jake Merklinger and George MacIntyre have worked with the Vols receivers for a lot longer.
Whichever way Heupel goes, though, he’s got to name a starter early in fall camp. UT’s offense is dependent on quarterbacks establishing a deep rapport with the wide receivers since the receivers have to read the defense and choose their routes based on coverages the same way the quarterback has to choose where to throw it based on those coverages.
By far the hardest part of the Heupel offense is the quarterback and receivers needing to know what each other is going to do play to play. As a result, the starter needs to go ahead and take all the first team reps early in fall camp so the growing pains won’t be as noticeable when the season kicks off.
This is what makes losing Nico Iamaleava not ideal. He had taken all the first team reps with the Tennessee Football wide receivers throughout spring, and Chris Brazzell II is the only returning contributor of the group. Mike Matthews and Braylon Staley are the other projected starters, and both were there last year, but neither played a lot.
Simply put, there is a lot of growing everybody has to do with each other. The Vols don’t have it easy coming out of the gate, as the Syracuse Orange in Atlanta could be a dangerous opponent, and they have to face the Georgia Bulldogs in the third week of the season.
Georgia could be a more devastating loss than usual this year if they hope to get back to the College Football Playoff since the Alabama Crimson Tide and Florida Gators are both on the road. Losing to Syracuse, which could be possible if this team doesn’t yet have a rhythm, makes things even more daunting.
Although veterans like Aguilar have shown they can pick up this system and develop a rapport with receivers quickly, as Hendon Hooker did, it’s not the same with younger receivers. They need to be familiar with the system and the quarterback, and if Aguilar wins the job, they won’t be familiar with the quarterback.
It’s fine for Heupel to have a bit of competition the first week, but he’s got to pull the trigger then on the starter, specifically if the starter is Aguilar. At least Merklinger and MacIntyre have some experience working with these guys since they were both there in the spring, and Merklinger has been there for a year.
Aguilar needs to be spending the summer working with Matthews, Brazzell, Staley and even Boo Carter. Heupel can then determine if they have established a rapport early on in fall camp, and then he can make his decision. Knowing him, he won’t name the starter until the week of, but if he makes his decision early, Tennessee Football will be fine.
