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Former Tennessee quarterback Jake Merklinger has committed to University of Connecticut out of the transfer portal.
He acknowledged his decision on social media on Jan. 15. On his X account, Merklinger posted: "Let’s Go! @UConnFootball," along with a graphic recognizing his commitment.
Merklinger spent two seasons at Tennessee but barely played and failed to win the starting job after a 2025 competition with Joey Aguilar.
Merklinger played six games and went 19-of-33 passing for 221 yards and two touchdowns.
In 2024, Merklinger was a third-string freshman when Nico Iamaleava started. In 2025, he competed for the starting job but lost to Aguilar.
By the end of the 2025 season, Merklinger was neck and neck with MacIntyre for the backup job. And it didn’t appear that Merklinger would factor in the starting job in 2026.
Now Merklinger will get a fresh start at UConn. He was a four-star recruit in the 2024 class out of Savannah, Georgia. He has three seasons of eligibility remaining.
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email [email protected]. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing atknoxnews.com/subscribe.
Get the latest news and insight on SEC football by subscribing to the SEC Unfiltered newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Jake Merklinger: Tennessee QB commits to UConn from transfer portal
Continue reading...
He acknowledged his decision on social media on Jan. 15. On his X account, Merklinger posted: "Let’s Go! @UConnFootball," along with a graphic recognizing his commitment.
Merklinger spent two seasons at Tennessee but barely played and failed to win the starting job after a 2025 competition with Joey Aguilar.
Merklinger played six games and went 19-of-33 passing for 221 yards and two touchdowns.
In 2024, Merklinger was a third-string freshman when Nico Iamaleava started. In 2025, he competed for the starting job but lost to Aguilar.
By the end of the 2025 season, Merklinger was neck and neck with MacIntyre for the backup job. And it didn’t appear that Merklinger would factor in the starting job in 2026.
Now Merklinger will get a fresh start at UConn. He was a four-star recruit in the 2024 class out of Savannah, Georgia. He has three seasons of eligibility remaining.
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email [email protected]. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing atknoxnews.com/subscribe.
Get the latest news and insight on SEC football by subscribing to the SEC Unfiltered newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Jake Merklinger: Tennessee QB commits to UConn from transfer portal
Continue reading...
