Finebaum says Tennessee and Georgia QB situations are “not fine”

[Remy]

We're probably two years away from being solid at QB unless one of the guys this year really over performs. Why? Because Heupel does have a highly rated QB coming in next year. It'll take him a year to really get it in SEC play so we're three seasons out from possibly being really good at that position again.

 

[Freak]

I wish someone had a website that tracked all of the crackpot things these days”talking heads “ say and call them on it when it turns out they are completely wrong

Sounds like a great thread idea. lol.

 

[DaddyChad]

Well just see how stupid I am. Check back after the season.

Crazy to make declarations in the off season either way but yeah the games in Bama, Florida and the home game vs Georgia will be tough. If Heupel and Banks pull a rabbit out of the hat at home against Georgia the expectations for the whole season reset.

 

[adam.vol]

Somehow I see Paul making a PUN with his name in labeling teams not “Fine”. Uga and Smokey will have him treed by the time playoff rankings come out.

 

[Rocky Top T]

Crazy to make declarations in the off season either way but yeah the games in Bama, Florida and the home game vs Georgia will be tough. If Heupel and Banks pull a rabbit out of the hat at home against Georgia the expectations for the whole season reset.

I agree, but Georgia seems to have our number, they have beaten us worse in Neyland. Hope you are right

 

[goooooovols]

Paul don’t know ****!

 

[EastTNVol6240]

He’s probably right. I think we are in deep trouble at QB

When compared to what? We just made the playoffs with Nico who was subpar for the SEC. If we can just get average play it won’t be a downgrade.

 

[Behr]

"at least 3 losses no matter who plays QB"..........stupidity...........

Fact.

 

[VolFan_stuck_in_the_901]

And if Aguilar or one of Merk/GMac ends up balling out and we win a bunch of games then "Pawl" will be the first one to say he knew all along it would be fine. The man is a professional flip-flopper

 

[jeff1vol]

Look up how much playing time Merklinger had last year. He played in 2 games, 6of 9 for 48 yards, no interceptions or touchdowns. That is the reason Heupel wants a veteran QB in the room. Mac hasn't played a down of college football yet, other than the Orange and White game. I hope Merklinger lights the scoreboard, but watching the replay of the O&W game, it didn't look too promising.

I get what you're saying, for sure! Although Merklinger is short on experience, he's been here a while now and SHOULD be able to handle the offense from an x/o standpoint if the coaches are doing their jobs, IMO. He's not chopped liver, so say the ratings gurus.

 

[Mccage]

Jr. called Paul and said enough of the Tennessee hype

 

[volhall16]

In reality, our QB wasn’t that great last year. As long as this year’s QB is half way decent, we will be just as good as long as our running game is what it was.

That’s a massive if in regards to the running game. We’re replacing one of the best/most productive running backs in program history with two relative unknowns, & an entirely new offensive line..

 

[volhall16]

This is quite possibly the worst take I have ever seen on this board.

It’s absolutely one of the worst takes I’ve ever seen on any online sports forum in 20+ years.

 

[greenbacknative]

It's amazing how fans of other schools keep up with the Nico situation. I played golf with a huge Ohio State fan this weekend. Everybody agrees that college sports is ruined. We all knew this type of move was coming. You just never dream it would be at our beloved UT. I have come up with a new name for our traitor.....Nico Iamaleaving.. fits doesn't it ?

 

[SpookyAction]

We may very well struggle mightily at QB this year. But I really dont think we were going to be setting the woods on fire had none of the Nico transpired either. We were likely going to be relying on the running game again either way. At least JA will be a running threat that Nico really wasn't. Maybe that opens up the passing game a little more for him. Who knows.

He rushed for 358yds. That is enough to keep eyes in the middle. He was a threat because those long strides ate up yds quickly. He was a threat.

I suspect JA can do even better. Definitely a stout guy. As good as our offense is at opening running lanes, when effective, he has potential to run up some numbers on the ground. Our QB should get several QB Draws per game. Nico averaged 8.4 carries per game.

 

[RavinDave]

Somehow I see Paul making a PUN with his name in labeling teams not “Fine”. Uga and Smokey will have him treed by the time playoff rankings come out.

View attachment 745137
View attachment 745138

I was thinking Fine Bomb

 

[BigOrangeFanatic]

He rushed for 358yds. That is enough to keep eyes in the middle. He was a threat because those long strides ate up yds quickly. He was a threat.

I suspect JA can do even better. Definitely a stout guy. As good as our offense is at opening running lanes, when effective, he has potential to run up some numbers on the ground. Our QB should get several QB Draws per game. Nico averaged 8.4 carries per game.

Nico may have had some rushing yards but he was not as effective as he could have been. Just no feel for it.

 

[SubVet676]

Yeah, so...

If Nico was still here, he's QB1. Merk and GMac fighting for QB2/3.

Nico's gone. Aguilar in. He's a gamer, but if the best he could do (at the time) was UCLA, well...

Maybe Heupel is exactly what Aguilar needs. It worked with Hooker, so...

If I had to lay a Ben Franklin on the table, all or nothing, I'd say Merk takes the field against Syracuse. Next up is Aguilar. GMac is the "We've got issues" 3rd option.

Aguilar is here for depth. Hopefully quality depth. If he starts without Merk being injured, it's an 8-4 year. At best.

I'm wrong a lot. So don't go mortgage the house on my opinion. I sure as heck didn't.

VFL's are a dying breed. If you are one, good on ya'.

 

[Sarms58]

A broken clock is right twice a day.

Yea, predicting that a couple of SEC teams with new QBs are going to have problems isn’t exactly going out on a limb…interesting that he picked two of the three SEC teams that made the playoffs last year…makes it easy to say not making the playoffs this year validates his speculation

 

[Tin Man]

Heup had a QB competition before, and he sorted it out. The Volunteers had a winning season, even though he changed QBs during it. He didn’t think Nico’s “team” would eff with Tennessee, but that’s water under the bridge. In present circumstances, I trust he’ll get the Vols back on track, whatever their final regular season record in 2025.

 

[K-town Vol Fan]

T

Aguilar has the potential to be a really good quarterback, but not if he comes in behind a bad center. How we had that much time to find and develop a good center and completely failed to do so is beyond me. Either way, the reports I am hearing is no one is serviceable at that position. If that’s accurate, we are in trouble with any QB.

What did you read? I thought Satterwhite had it locked down

 

[vegasvolfan]

What did you read? I thought Satterwhite had it locked down

It was a Sports Animal podscast. May have been Ainge, but was the consensus.

 

[TikiVol]

Finebaum is the Jim Cramer of college football. Meaning, take whatever he says as 1. corporate hog wash from his upper management and 2. the opposite of truth to get the fans riled up and callin' in to complain.

Does anyone remember what position Finebaum played when he was at Tennessee?

 

[WilliamDuVOL]

Yeah, so...

If Nico was still here, he's QB1. Merk and GMac fighting for QB2/3.

Nico's gone. Aguilar in. He's a gamer, but if the best he could do (at the time) was UCLA, well...

Maybe Heupel is exactly what Aguilar needs. It worked with Hooker, so...

If I had to lay a Ben Franklin on the table, all or nothing, I'd say Merk takes the field against Syracuse. Next up is Aguilar. GMac is the "We've got issues" 3rd option.

Aguilar is here for depth. Hopefully quality depth. If he starts without Merk being injured, it's an 8-4 year. At best.

I'm wrong a lot. So don't go mortgage the house on my opinion. I sure as heck didn't.

VFL's are a dying breed. If you are one, good on ya'.

I'm going to disagree on the premise that if Aguilar starts, it will be because he came in and his experience learning other offensive systems allowed him to pick ours up faster, and Heupel thinks he's the best chance to win. That doesn't necessarily mean either of the backups isn't progressing. I know people are concerned about Aguilar's interception history, but he also threw for 6,760 yards and 56 touchdowns in two seasons. This system is fairly quarterback friendly. If he can manage 25+ TDs, 2500+ yards, and just limit interceptions to maybe under 10, I don't know why we cant win 9-10 games in the regular season. Lastly, don't forget he will be surrounded by a much more talented roster than at App State.

 

[RockyTop140]

It was a Sports Animal podscast. May have been Ainge, but was the consensus.

That was one of my main concerns over the offseason. All we had was Satterwhite who has virtually no experience. Aren’t they letting the ND transfer get some reps at center? Think his name is Pendleton