Merk is entering the portal

#101
#101
Hope he goes and balls out somewhere. It’s going to be very interesting to see what happens to him. What if he goes to another good team and really has a great year or two? That certainly wouldn’t looom good in Heupel.
 
#102
#102
SayUWantAreVOLution said:
I have a lot of respect for G-Mac but if he's not going to start in 26, he's going to have to make peace with possibly not being able to beat out Faizon in 27.

Even not buying into the "Faizon won't sit 2 years without transferring out" talk, Faizon is very highly rated and may (or, yes, may not) be a "perfect fit" for Heupel's offense (echoes of Nico hype dancing in my ears.)

G-Mac was QB3 this year, not surpassing Merk even late in the season apparently, and we're currently assessing that Merk probably is currently NOT an SEC caliber QB. What does that say about Heupel's view of G-Mac at the end of the year?
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I may be interpreting it wrong, but my sense was that Heupel knows what he has developing in G-Mac (all positive, once he bulks up) but needed to see what Merk's ceiling is, in order to determine whether he needs to shop for an experienced QB in the portal to protect Faizon from being thrust into action prematurely as the #2.

I think what we fans see during games is only about 10% of what the coaches use to determine a backup QB's value moving forward. They're tracking hundreds of throws and reads from practice. I think how they perform in front of a crowd is mostly about intangibles. I think Heupel was giving Merk every opportunity to prove he could be a strong #1 or #2 QB next season.

Did we see G-Mac do anything during a game that was disappointing or questionable? I don't remember seeing anything... but my "I don't remember" list seems to grow longer. 😏
 
#103
#103
BruisedOrange said:
I may be interpreting it wrong, but my sense was that Heupel knows what he has developing in G-Mac (all positive, once he bulks up) but needed to see what Merk's ceiling is, in order to determine whether he needs to shop for an experienced QB in the portal to protect Faizon from being thrust into action prematurely as the #2.

I think what we fans see during games is only about 10% of what the coaches use to determine a backup QB's value moving forward. They're tracking hundreds of throws and reads from practice. I think how they perform in front of a crowd is mostly about intangibles. I think Heupel was giving Merk every opportunity to prove he could be a strong #1 or #2 QB next season.

Did we see G-Mac do anything during a game that was disappointing or questionable? I don't remember seeing anything... but my "I don't remember" list seems to grow longer. 😏
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You might be right about your first paragraph but how could you possibly sense that?
 
#107
#107
Very much expected. He is a very good quarterback, just not for this system. He does not have the ability to make the extremely fast decisions that have to be made to be successful. I fully expect him to flourish in a more traditional pro-style offense. He can run, but he is more of a traditional drop back QB. G-Mac was the one I was hoping would stay out of those two.
 
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#109
#109
SayUWantAreVOLution said:
You might be right about your first paragraph but how could you possibly sense that?
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I guess it just makes more sense to me. We've seen that Heupel is very loyal to his QBs. That loyalty is going to always be an important part of his appeal to recruiting top QBs.

Outside of an injury, the backups only play when the outcome is already determined. So it makes sense to me that he would use those opportunities for the individual good of his QBs--either to gain experience playing in front of an SEC crowd, or the chance to prove that he's better in a game (ala, Hooker) than he's displayed in practice.

Another reason for playing a QB you like personally but don't expect to keep, would be to let him beef up his value in the portal. Either way, he's giving them every incentive to play & practice hard for him.

Heupel loves his guys. He's gonna take a paternal attitude as far as it doesn't hurt the team. And as far as sending a message to his players, it sounds like they're in his office all the time and are confident that he shoots straight with them.

;) All just my guess.
 
#110
#110
I don't blame him. This is perfect use of the transfer portal. He's seeing that others are looked at for QB and knows hes not in conversation to play at Tennessee. Best to play somewhere else his final two years and move forward with his career. Best of luck to his future.
 
#112
#112
Vol865 said:
We have opportunity to play 1 Freshman QB who left in the spring of his Sophomore year.

Nothing against Merk but y'all are trying to make him into something he never was. Never once did he look better than any QB on our roster or anyone who is going to be on our roster.
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Iirc, Merk went into one game and threw a bad pass. Then he hit one after another and got yards with his legs. Of course nobody here ever talked about how well he played.
 
#113
#113
BigOrangeTrain said:
Hope he goes and balls out somewhere. It’s going to be very interesting to see what happens to him. What if he goes to another good team and really has a great year or two? That certainly wouldn’t looom good in Heupel.
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Possible but really. How man QB's have left here and balled out some where else under equal competition?
But even if he does go some place and balls out. I don't think 1 guy balling out of the all the ones CJH has had really says anything other than the guy benefited from a different system
 
#117
#117
FanDude said:
Iirc, Merk went into one game and threw a bad pass. Then he hit one after another and got yards with his legs. Of course nobody here ever talked about how well he played.
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Looked very average every time I saw him play. McIntyre has a way higher ceiling along with Faizon.

Wish Merk the best. I just never saw anything that made me think he was going to be an elite QB.
 
#121
#121
FanDude said:
Iirc, Merk went into one game and threw a bad pass. Then he hit one after another and got yards with his legs. Of course nobody here ever talked about how well he played.
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I saw every play he made while he was at Tennessee. I did not see anything that would convince me that he could be a starter at Tennessee. I wish him well and hope that someday he will make me eat my words.
 
#123
#123
SubVet676 said:
Best option for '26 is JA, GMac, and Faizon. No need to waste portal money if that's the lineup. Go get supporting cast.
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Aguilar is done here. Fans need to accept this. There's no chance UT will wait to see if the courts rule in his favor. No offense, but I'm not sure why this is so hard to grasp.
 
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