'24 GA QB Jake Merklinger (Tennessee)

[NighthawkVol]

The tackles were poor but Ollie wasn’t good either.

Lampley played well, though.

 

[Volunteer_Kirby]

Polynesian bowl on right now for those curious. First drive was a wash due to a drop. Second drive was solid, Merk hit a nice 20 yard pass on the sideline, drive ended in a FG.

 

[GUNTERSVOL]

Polynesian bowl on right now for those curious. First drive was a wash due to a drop. Second drive was solid, Merk hit a nice 20 yard pass on the sideline, drive ended in a FG.

Wonder what kind of ball they are using..... His balls had a bunch of wobble on them as did some others... And a bunch of INTS thrown on floaters... Bet he looks better on the Hill...

 

[Volunteer_Kirby]

Merk with an unfortunate mishap. Failed to secure ball as he was going out - big time fumble.

 

[TN-POSSUM]

.

 

[StoVol]

 

[OrangeEtBlanc]

Though Merk didn’t play too great tonight, ALL the QBs really struggled in this game. Not a single one looked sharp outside of a few plays & Wilson’s first drive.

 

[Helton1]

Yeah, a lot of floaters thrown by all QB’s. Was odd. Hate to say it but Raiola’s arm looked great.

 

[OrangeEtBlanc]

Yeah, a lot of floaters thrown by all QB’s. Was odd. Hate to say it but Raiola’s arm looked great.

I’m just glad he’s going to Nebraska and not Georgia. Would like to see the ‘Huskers be good again. A Tennessee-Nebraska playoff game in the near future would be nice.

 

[VolNRaleighNC]

Yeah, a lot of floaters thrown by all QB’s. Was odd. Hate to say it but Raiola’s arm looked great.

Least he won’t be in Athens

 

[Vol423]

I’m just glad he’s going to Nebraska and not Georgia. Would like to see the ‘Huskers be good again. A Tennessee-Nebraska playoff game in the near future would be nice.

Nebraska won’t be sniffing the playoffs anytime soon.

 

[GVol1966]

Nebraska won’t be sniffing the playoffs anytime soon.

Same could and was said of UT when Huepel got here. We were sniffing very soon.

 

[Vol423]

Same could and was said of UT when Huepel got here. We were sniffing very soon.

Our record also improved by 4 wins in Heupel’s first year in the toughest conference in the nation. Nebraska’s record improved by one whole game in year 1 with Matt Rhule as their head coach. They finished bowl ineligible at 5-7 in a far weaker conference. That conference is now getting tougher, and Nebraska, with or without Raiola at QB, will continue to be one of the recruiting runts of the litter in that conference.

 

[VolTull]

Wonder what kind of ball they are using..... His balls had a bunch of wobble on them as did some others...

I was watching the game and didn't notice

 

[rgvol]

Merk made a couple really nice throws his first possession. Had some wobble, to me the ball seemed slick.

 

[VOLociraptorr]

Though Merk didn’t play too great tonight, ALL the QBs really struggled in this game. Not a single one looked sharp outside of a few plays & Wilson’s first drive.

I think they looked good if they were throwing it to Mike Matthews

 

[OrangeEtBlanc]

Our record also improved by 4 wins in Heupel’s first year in the toughest conference in the nation. Nebraska’s record improved by one whole game in year 1 with Matt Rhule as their head coach. They finished bowl ineligible at 5-7 in a far weaker conference. That conference is now getting tougher, and Nebraska, with or without Raiola at QB, will continue to be one of the recruiting runts of the litter in that conference.

While the ‘Huskers didn’t see much W-L improvement this past season, they were really close. They lost 4 games by only a field goal, and to Wisconsin by one TD. They did get dismantled by Michigan (expected), and also Colorado before their wheels fell off. In this era of the Transfer Portal and NIL, teams that can utilize them effectively can rebuild much quicker than in the past.

Anyway, it was exciting to see a batch of our future Vols in the Polynesian Bowl.

 

[Jackcrevol]

Though Merk didn’t play too great tonight, ALL the QBs really struggled in this game. Not a single one looked sharp outside of a few plays & Wilson’s first drive.

This, every QB. Even Raiola struggled, at times. The wind was whipping all game. The winning team had 5 TO's. One was Merk's fault, other was the snap. He tried to jump on ball, which got moved by LT's leg. Nothing he couldve done.

Biggest thing to me at times, was the wide eyed look. Even on roll outs, few batted balls, even poor decisions. Few passes he did complete were darts. Receivers got zero separation.

 

[GUNTERSVOL]

I was watching the game and didn't notice

I have got to believe that the number of INTS by both sides was not just a bunch of collective bad days by the QBs. Tight spirals were not common at all. There were more ducks there yesterday than most lakes in my area.

 

[jasonvol18]

Though Merk didn’t play too great tonight, ALL the QBs really struggled in this game. Not a single one looked sharp outside of a few plays & Wilson’s first drive.

Yea it's been said in previous all star games that QB's tend to struggle in them. They QB's and WR's haven't played together more than a few days and it really messes timing up. Like you said, every QB struggled and there were tons of wobbly balls thrown. Not concerned in the least right now. I've seen his HS clips, he throws a good, tight spiral with lots of zip.

 

[VolInDayton]

Yea it's been said in previous all star games that QB's tend to struggle in them. They QB's and WR's haven't played together more than a few days and it really messes timing up. Like you said, every QB struggled and there were tons of wobbly balls thrown. Not concerned in the least right now. I've seen his HS clips, he throws a good, tight spiral with lots of zip.

Looked up Nicos stats from the game. It was like 13-19 for 180 1 td and 70 yards rushing. He's been one of the few QBs that played well in a all-star game. can't wait for next year. Merk will figure it out by time we need him.

 

[Smokey'sHandler]

I have got to believe that the number of INTS by both sides was not just a bunch of collective bad days by the QBs. Tight spirals were not common at all. There were more ducks there yesterday than most lakes in my area.

It was odd and very apparent in the 1st quarter. I thought to myself QBs in an elite All Star game shouldn’t struggle to throw a spiral. Go watch Raiolas pick. I thought the ball was tipped or his arm got hit. Nope clean as a whistle and he threw a dead duck.

It’s almost like there was a rule that they were going to play with a wet ball the whole game.

 

[CAVPUT]

Yea it's been said in previous all star games that QB's tend to struggle in them. They QB's and WR's haven't played together more than a few days and it really messes timing up. Like you said, every QB struggled and there were tons of wobbly balls thrown. Not concerned in the least right now. I've seen his HS clips, he throws a good, tight spiral with lots of zip.

Not the strongest arm which might be a problem early on with the speed and athleticism in the SEC defensive backfields. Having said that, his highlights(yeah, I know) show that he has touch and throws a catchable ball. Seems to lead his receivers well and again, from the clips, he puts the ball where his guy can get it. Not the most athletic guy, but seemed to be a decent runner when he got flushed from the pocket. Guess my biggest concern is his competition level. While he is from GA, the competition he played against wasn't the greatest. Hope he's a quick study and can be a backup to Nico next year, but I'm not expecting that big a jump as a freshman.

 

[jasonvol18]

Looked up Nicos stats from the game. It was like 13-19 for 180 1 td and 70 yards rushing. He's been one of the few QBs that played well in a all-star game. can't wait for next year. Merk will figure it out by time we need him.

Yea there's definitely the exception, but most of those games QB's tend to struggle the majority of the time. I'm sure tit being windy didn't help either.

 

[NighthawkVol]

Not the strongest arm which might be a problem early on with the speed and athleticism in the SEC defensive backfields. Having said that, his highlights(yeah, I know) show that he has touch and throws a catchable ball. Seems to lead his receivers well and again, from the clips, he puts the ball where his guy can get it. Not the most athletic guy, but seemed to be a decent runner when he got flushed from the pocket. Guess my biggest concern is his competition level. While he is from GA, the competition he played against wasn't the greatest. Hope he's a quick study and can be a backup to Nico next year, but I'm not expecting that big a jump as a freshman.

Reports prior to the game were that he showed plenty of arm strength in practices.