Why hunt down a high profile QB?

#26
#26
IF the right QB is available in the portal to come in to start and is a better option than what we have, then Heupel needs to take him. If not, it is going to be the Merk show most likely. Heup is going to take another QB for depth no doubt.
 
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#27
#27
a vol n tears said:
Not saying you are wrong, but Nico did not make one special play that allowed the Vols to make the playoffs. I actually can’t remember any play he made that I still remember and thinking, that was an exceptional play. No idea what CJH is going to look for in a portal QB, whether a scholarship fill or a sure fire starter. However Nico started as a RS fresh and that is exactly what what Merck will be. If Mercklinger can be mid pack quality, Tenn is basically in position to be just as good.
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Not sure how you go into the portal at such a late date and get a "sure fire" starter. Even if they do money whip someone into coming, he's going to face a lot of challenges. Seriously, he won't have benefit of a spring. Think about bonding, learning the system, timing, etc. Think about jumping into this league for a team under those circumstances with an uncertain OL and group of WRs. Heupel will be a magician if he pulls this off. Really think the idea of a backup guy and taking our lumps with Merk/Mac is the best bet long term.
 
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#28
#28
bvmsports.com

Tennessee Coach Heupel Eyes Multiple QB Options After Iamaleava Exit

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel faces a quarterback quandary after Nico Iamaleava departed amid an NIL dispute. While South Alabama transfer Gio Lopez is a con
bvmsports.com bvmsports.com

www.sportingnews.com

Gio Lopez won’t be Tennessee head football coach Josh Heupel’s only option to replace Nico Iamaleava | Sporting News

Gio Lopez isn't the only quarterback Tennessee head football coach Josh Heupel is looking at in the transfer portal.
www.sportingnews.com www.sportingnews.com

South Alabama quarterback Gio Lopez, a guy pursued by Georgia and LSU in the winter, hit the transfer portal on Monday. He won’t be the only guy. Tennessee will have some options.”
 
#29
#29
VawlIn said:
I mean he did play Joe Milton over Hooker, and likely didn’t have any pressure from boosters to play one or the other. You don’t think there’s a chance he could’ve done the same with Nico? Not saying there was a better option last year, but Heupel playing the worse of two QBs because one was the guy he hand picked and the other wasn’t isn’t necessarily something that’s unprecedented during his time here
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Absolutely, Heupel may not be the man for a number of reasons.

It's been brought up that his record went down at UCF after the Frost recruits moved on. Certainly Hendon Hooker vs Joe comes up also. I think Nico's potential is huge but some think his development at UT was slow, though we'll never know what he'd have done for us this year.

So maybe Brandon too is going to be "mid" also or be poorly developed or ill suited for the tempo Heupel likes to run or whatever flaw may be there that Heupel is missing.

What I don't think is that Brandon is going to automatically get the start because his NIL is bigger than Merk and G-Mac. Nico's NIL was bigger than Joe's and he sat.
 
#30
#30
bpalmer28 said:
I'm projecting that we will have our best OL since 1998. We don't need a world-beater at QB, but with an experienced leader and the weapons we have around him we could make another run at the playoffs.

People forget that Bishop averaged 6.1 ypc last season and I think people are overlooking the athleticism of Peyton Lewis, Mike Matthews, and Braylon Staley.
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It's 5 o'clock somewhere.
 
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#31
#31
I believed we moved Nico down the road from a position of strength. CJH knows what he has in the stable. I’m going to trust Coach to use his young guns or bring a new one in. He is smart enough to know what he has. I’m betting we already have the horse power in the barn. We wouldn’t have been so confident unless there was already a good backup plan in place. He probably told Danny we don’t need no Nico. I’m going trust the coach.
 
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#32
#32
xpsyclonex2002 said:
We have a RS QB that was supposed to be top shelf when he was recruited. We have a true freshmen that was supposed to be top shelf when he was recruited. We have a 5* coming in the next class. What's the point of recruiting them if you're scared to play them? Why recruit someone from the portal with the intention of starting them? What signal does that send to those guys? Merklinger is exactly where Nico was coming into the fall except for the bowl game start. McIntire wouldn't be the first true freshmen to start at QB for us. I know that we would prefer to put a proven product on the field but just because some guy knocked it out of the park playing for Northeast Western State for the Infirmed doesn't mean that will translate to the SEC any more than a RS Freshman with a year under his belt practicing with the team. If we pick up someone cheap, sure. Why not add depth? But we shouldn't be out trying to recruit a replacement for Nico with the intent to spend that money. Take the money Nico would have got and get some solid portal players to bolster the team as a whole. We are going to be run heavy again this year. Sure. Pick up a spare QB. With only two on the roster, we are thin. . Pick up a lineman. Pick up a DB. Pick up a spare receiver. But looking to blow that money on another higher profile QB knowing that Faison might look around if he feels like he's likely to sit for 2 years is foolish.

Bottom line is, if you're not going to play the guys you recruit, then stop recruiting them. Just live out of the portal. Steal known talent. Be Ol Miss.
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Go with the QBs the Vols have now. Take the money they were paying Nico and get a couple O-line and WRs in the portal.
 
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#33
#33
xpsyclonex2002 said:
We have a RS QB that was supposed to be top shelf when he was recruited. We have a true freshmen that was supposed to be top shelf when he was recruited. We have a 5* coming in the next class. What's the point of recruiting them if you're scared to play them? Why recruit someone from the portal with the intention of starting them? What signal does that send to those guys? Merklinger is exactly where Nico was coming into the fall except for the bowl game start. McIntire wouldn't be the first true freshmen to start at QB for us. I know that we would prefer to put a proven product on the field but just because some guy knocked it out of the park playing for Northeast Western State for the Infirmed doesn't mean that will translate to the SEC any more than a RS Freshman with a year under his belt practicing with the team. If we pick up someone cheap, sure. Why not add depth? But we shouldn't be out trying to recruit a replacement for Nico with the intent to spend that money. Take the money Nico would have got and get some solid portal players to bolster the team as a whole. We are going to be run heavy again this year. Sure. Pick up a spare QB. With only two on the roster, we are thin. . Pick up a lineman. Pick up a DB. Pick up a spare receiver. But looking to blow that money on another higher profile QB knowing that Faison might look around if he feels like he's likely to sit for 2 years is foolish.

Bottom line is, if you're not going to play the guys you recruit, then stop recruiting them. Just live out of the portal. Steal known talent. Be Ol Miss.
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I have to agree with your post. Merklinger was recruited to play and he is where Nico was last year at this time, he probably starts next season, so play him now and get him experience.
 
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#34
#34
VawlIn said:
Merk looked bad on Saturday and made some absolutely atrocious decisions. He was late on almost every ball he got out that wasn’t a quick screen and even bounced a screen pass off the grass. I think he’s a talented kid, but he has all of the problems Nico does without the arm talent and athleticism. We just lost 100% of our offensive production from last year after losing our starting WR group, Sampson, Nico, and most of our OL. We lose a significant portion of our 2 deep on the DL from last year and our all SEC corner is coming off a torn ACL and may not be ready to go till mid way through the season or could even end up opting out all together as he will likely be a day 2 pick. This could be a Jeremy Pruitt type of team this year if we don’t get significantly and I mean SIGNIFICANTLY better QB play than what we got Saturday
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Understood. Merk looked like a kid who had, at a moments notice, had the fate of a legendary football powerhouse thrown in his lap. As far as the talent lost, that's college football. Next man up, right? If the guy we recruited to fill in after players leave can't do the job, then we have a whole different problem. And let's not forget that Merk isn't starting. He's just the leader for the position. He already has competition.........
 
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#37
#37
Chickenfarmer said:
I believed we moved Nico down the road from a position of strength. CJH knows what he has in the stable. I’m going to trust Coach to use his young guns or bring a new one in. He is smart enough to know what he has. I’m betting we already have the horse power in the barn. We wouldn’t have been so confident unless there was already a good backup plan in place. He probably told Danny we don’t need no Nico. I’m going trust the coach.
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Good post. I agree. If CJH thought there was a big talent drop off he would have had UT negotiate a new $ for Nico. Maybe not the $4M he wanted, but enough to keep him here. But that didn't happen. As soon as Nico's team opened their mouth, Nico was gone. If anything, I wonder if CJH was having buyers remorse about Nico based on the play on the field. That run heavy offense wasn't an accident. Someone else posted that they couldn't think of a single play that was all Nico that got us to the playoffs. He's right. I can think of some bonehead plays like stepping out of bounds that he cost us. But you could do that with most any player. At the end of the day, Nico wasn't worth the 2.4M much less $4M. CJH and UT made a business decision. But it wasn't done without consideration.......
 
#39
#39
I don't expect us to sign a current starter at a power conference school. Might be a starter from one of the G schools or someone who has lost the starting job at a bigger schools. So, mostly signing someone for depth. Open up competition in August and see what happens. I've resigned myself to an 8-4 type season.
 
#41
#41
xpsyclonex2002 said:
We have a RS QB that was supposed to be top shelf when he was recruited. We have a true freshmen that was supposed to be top shelf when he was recruited. We have a 5* coming in the next class. What's the point of recruiting them if you're scared to play them? Why recruit someone from the portal with the intention of starting them? What signal does that send to those guys? Merklinger is exactly where Nico was coming into the fall except for the bowl game start. McIntire wouldn't be the first true freshmen to start at QB for us. I know that we would prefer to put a proven product on the field but just because some guy knocked it out of the park playing for Northeast Western State for the Infirmed doesn't mean that will translate to the SEC any more than a RS Freshman with a year under his belt practicing with the team. If we pick up someone cheap, sure. Why not add depth? But we shouldn't be out trying to recruit a replacement for Nico with the intent to spend that money. Take the money Nico would have got and get some solid portal players to bolster the team as a whole. We are going to be run heavy again this year. Sure. Pick up a spare QB. With only two on the roster, we are thin. . Pick up a lineman. Pick up a DB. Pick up a spare receiver. But looking to blow that money on another higher profile QB knowing that Faison might look around if he feels like he's likely to sit for 2 years is foolish.

Bottom line is, if you're not going to play the guys you recruit, then stop recruiting them. Just live out of the portal. Steal known talent. Be Ol Miss.
Click to expand...

The actual bottom line is that Merck is not experienced and we have no idea how he would perform against SEC teams.

Even if he's great, we're one injury away from having a single freshman as our only scholly QB.
 
#42
#42
bpalmer28 said:
I'm projecting that we will have our best OL since 1998. We don't need a world-beater at QB, but with an experienced leader and the weapons we have around him we could make another run at the playoffs.

People forget that Bishop averaged 6.1 ypc last season and I think people are overlooking the athleticism of Peyton Lewis, Mike Matthews, and Braylon Staley.
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Best OL since 1998 may be a stretch, but I agree with the overall sentiment of your post. If in year 5 we ended up losing more than 5 games with this schedule (quite a few people on here and predicting that) that would mean we have talent eval issues. Obviously losing our qb 4 months before the season sucks, but the pieces to be a solid team are still there imo.
 
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#44
#44
Some people don’t have a problem spending someone else money to get a QB. Go with Merk and get backup for1yr.
 
#46
#46
CAVPUT said:
Not sure how you go into the portal at such a late date and get a "sure fire" starter. Even if they do money whip someone into coming, he's going to face a lot of challenges. Seriously, he won't have benefit of a spring. Think about bonding, learning the system, timing, etc. Think about jumping into this league for a team under those circumstances with an uncertain OL and group of WRs. Heupel will be a magician if he pulls this off. Really think the idea of a backup guy and taking our lumps with Merk/Mac is the best bet long term.
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If some QB wants a change of scenery and can get higher NIL he'll come to Knoxville.
Chances are it will be mid major guy if it happens.

Ifg not, we at least should shop for an experienced backup in case Merk gets hurt.
 
#48
#48
xpsyclonex2002 said:
We have a RS QB that was supposed to be top shelf when he was recruited. We have a true freshmen that was supposed to be top shelf when he was recruited. We have a 5* coming in the next class. What's the point of recruiting them if you're scared to play them? Why recruit someone from the portal with the intention of starting them? What signal does that send to those guys? Merklinger is exactly where Nico was coming into the fall except for the bowl game start. McIntire wouldn't be the first true freshmen to start at QB for us. I know that we would prefer to put a proven product on the field but just because some guy knocked it out of the park playing for Northeast Western State for the Infirmed doesn't mean that will translate to the SEC any more than a RS Freshman with a year under his belt practicing with the team. If we pick up someone cheap, sure. Why not add depth? But we shouldn't be out trying to recruit a replacement for Nico with the intent to spend that money. Take the money Nico would have got and get some solid portal players to bolster the team as a whole. We are going to be run heavy again this year. Sure. Pick up a spare QB. With only two on the roster, we are thin. . Pick up a lineman. Pick up a DB. Pick up a spare receiver. But looking to blow that money on another higher profile QB knowing that Faison might look around if he feels like he's likely to sit for 2 years is foolish.

Bottom line is, if you're not going to play the guys you recruit, then stop recruiting them. Just live out of the portal. Steal known talent. Be Ol Miss.
Click to expand...
Very well said and I agree 100%. I for one did not think Nico was all that good. To me he was an average sec qb.
 
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#49
#49
Vols till I fall said:
I completely understand what you are saying, however we do still have the lieces around the right QB to go to the playoffs again

We need a developed QB that is an upperclassmen imo.

Doesn't have to be a flashy guy, just a guy who knows what he is doing and won't run out of bounce on the last play of the game vs Arkansas
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What exactly did Nico show you last year to think that neither of our qb on the roster now could not do just as well. We won with defense and running game. Not with great qb play. Nico was a game manager
 
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#50
#50
Vols till I fall said:
I completely understand what you are saying, however we do still have the lieces around the right QB to go to the playoffs again

We need a developed QB that is an upperclassmen imo.

Doesn't have to be a flashy guy, just a guy who knows what he is doing and won't run out of bounce on the last play of the game vs Arkansas
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And we have the $$$$
 
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