Tennessee will have a quarterback competition this fall.

Jake Merklinger, who is entering his second season with the program has reportedly agreed to a new contract with the Vols following the departure of starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava and the addition of Joey Aguilar from the transfer portal last week.

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On3’s Pete Nakos was the first to report on Monday afternoon.

Merklinger was suddenly thrust into a bigger role on the eve of Tennessee’s spring game when Iamaleava no-showed at the Vols’ last spring practice and was subsequently dismissed from the team.

Iamaleava transferred to UCLA in a highly-publicized move and a first in the era of NIL.

Merklinger was a four-star prospect in Tennessee’s 2024 signing class and played behind Iamaleava and backup Gaston Moore last season.

Merklinger appeared in two games, going 6-of-9 passing for 48 yards against Chattanooga and Kent State.

After both Iamaleava and Moore entered the portal, Merklinger was one of just two scholarship quarterbacks on the Vols’ roster, and the most experienced.

George MacIntyre, another four-star recruit in the 2024 class, joined the team in December and enrolled in January.

Looking to add depth and more experience, Tennessee pulled Aguilar, who had going through spring practices at UCLA after two record-breaking seasons at Appalachian State.

The move to change Merklinger’s contract sets up a potential three-way competition at quarterback this offseason.

Aguilar will enter fall camp with the edge in game experience, having appeared in 25 games with the Mountaineers in 2023 and 2024.

Aguilar has 6,750 passing yards, 56 touchdowns and 24 interceptions to his name. He set a number of passing and scoring records at Appalachian State in 2023.

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