Some Tennessee football fans have already picked their preferred quarterback: Joey Aguilar, Jake Merklinger or George MacIntyre.
But why so soon, and based on what?
On this episode of “The Volunteer State” podcast, hosts Adam Sparks and John Adams explore the phenomenon of fans showing stern allegiance to a particular quarterback over the other contenders on the same team.
It’s even stranger when the quarterbacks have barely played, or at least not played for the Vols.
UT begins preseason practice on July 30, when the the quarterback competition will take center stage. To hear the full conversation, listen to the podcast. Here are some highlights.
Lessons from Peyton Manning vs. Branndon Stewart
Sparks shared the story about when, in 1994, he briefly thought Branndon Stewart was a better option at quarterback than Peyton Manning.
In a blowout loss to Florida, Stewart had better stats than Manning. And Stewart was a dual-threat quarterback like Heath Shuler, which seemed to matter at the time.
Let that be a lesson for fans looking for the second coming of Hendon Hooker in the current competition. Successful quarterbacks can take different shapes and sizes.
Sparks, a 14-year-old during the 1994 season, said it also didn’t matter to him that Peyton was Archie Manning’s son. He preferred to be a contrarian by initially favoring Stewart.
“To a 14-year-old kid in 1994, telling me that he was Archie Manning’s son was like telling a kid today that (a freshman quarterback) is Tim Couch’s son – that is, a son of a really good former SEC quarterback who you had seen very little of but had heard the name of,” Sparks said.
“So for those reasons, for a very short time I thought Branndon Stewart was better than Peyton Manning. And obviously I was completely wrong.”
Why…
Source link : https://www.knoxnews.com/story/sports/college/university-of-tennessee/football/2025/07/22/joey-aguilar-jake-merklinger-george-macintyre-tennessee-football-quarterbacks-fans-pick/83817871007/
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Publish date : 2025-07-22 14:52:00
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