Tennessee

Titans’ Potential No. 1 Pick Draws Concerning Comparison

Published

11 months ago

January 16, 2025

Titans’ Potential No. 1 Pick Draws Concerning Comparison

The Tennessee Titans were blessed by the football gods with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Many believe that they will look to fix their quarterback problem with that pick.

Right now, there are two expected options that the Titans will choose from. Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders are the only two players receiving the vast majority of the projections fro the team with the top pick.

Ward has gained a slight edge over Sanders in the minds of many. A lot can change, but Ward is trending very well to be the No. 1 pick at this point in time.

That being said, a concerning comparison has been made for Ward that could make Tennessee think twice.

Bleacher Report has dropped a comparison for Ward to Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith. That clearly is not the best comparison that a potential No. 1 pick could be given.

Obviously, Smith has ended up having a solid NFL career. However, he has been far from a star and if Ward developed like Smith did, it would be another potential setback for the Titans and definitely not worth the No. 1 overall pick.

While it’s a bit of a concerning comparison, Ward put up huge production on the field for the Miami Hurricanes in 2024. He has earned the hype that he has been receiving as an option for Tennessee.

During the 2024 season with Miami, Ward ended up completing 67.2 percent of his pass attempts for 4,313 yards, 39 touchdowns, and seven interceptoins. He also picked up 204 yards and four more touchdowns on the ground.

Throughout his entire college career, his numbers look even more impressive.

He has finished with 18,187 passing yards, 158 touchdowns, and just 37 interceptions. He also completed 67.2 percent of his passes. In addition to his passing numbers, he had 469 yards and 20 touchdowns with his legs.

That kind of production speaks volumes. Ward was a dynamic quarterback in college and if those skills transfer to the NFL, he would be exactly the quarterback fix that the Titans desperately need.

Hopefully, Tennessee gets this decision right. They have been in quarterback purgatory over the last few years and have to find a franchise quarterback that can lead them back to contention.

Make sure you bookmark Tennessee Titans on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!

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Tennessee

Tennessee football QB Jake Merklinger plans to enter transfer portal

Published

12 hours ago

December 17, 2025

Press Room

Tennessee football QB Jake Merklinger plans to enter transfer portal

Tennessee quarterback Jake Merklinger plans to enter the transfer portal, Knox News has confirmed.

On3.com and Rivals.com were the first to report Merklinger’s decision. The transfer portal opens on Jan. 2.

Merklinger has also opted out of the Music City Bowl. No. 23 Tennessee (8-4) plays Illinois (8-4) on Dec. 30 (5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) in Nashville. Starter Joey Aguilar will play in the bowl game, so Merklinger was not expected to be a factor. Freshman George MacIntyre will serve as the backup.

Merklinger spent two seasons at Tennessee but barely played and failed to win the starting job. He 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 transfer Joey Aguilar.

By the end of the 2025 season, Merklinger was neck and neck with freshman George MacIntyre for the backup job. And it didn’t appear that Merklinger would factor in the starting job in 2026.

Merklinger, a native of Savannah, Georgia, was a four-star recruit in the 2024 class. He has three seasons of eligibility remaining.

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

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Tennessee

Seedy K’s GameCap: Tennessee

Published

1 day ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

When you have two legitimate Top 20 teams testing each other, it’s never inevitable.

But this U of L task in Knoxville against tall favorite Tennessee sure seemed close to that heading in.

Well coached top level foe at its sold out home.

One whose strength — inside scoring and rebounding — made it a bad matchup for the Cards, whose lack of inside depth and strength has been an Achilles heel from the get go.

That the Vols were hungry and angry coming off three straight Ls made a U of L victory seem an almost impossible task.

Then we learned that back issue of Mikel Brown’s is a problem.

Cards were toast before tip.

It was all evident by halftime — actually well before then.

It just takes a peek at a couple statistics.

Tennessee led by only 7, thanks to some tough Cardinal D. And UT’s woeful FT shooting.

That inside game issue: Volunteers 28 points in the paint. Cardinals 10.

That’s right, Tennessee had more points in the paint at the break than Louisville had points total.

That lack of point guard issue: U of L had 9 FGs at intermission. Tennessee had that many assists on 15 buckets.

Louisville’s strength is depth. At least usually.

During the first 20 Tuesday, the Cards had zero points off the pine. Vols 22. (For the game, the disparity was 34-3. Khani Rooths hit a FT. Wild Man Zougris a garbage time slam.)

Another opening stanza reality that might have you feeling the need to clean your glasses.

Only three guys scored. Adrian Wooley with 12, Ryan Conwell with 11, and Sananda Fru with 4.

Louisville’s second half performance is not worth the bandwidth, my time to write about, nor your time to read.

The final, in a lopsided disappointing loss: 83-62.

There is no sugar frosting this. Against teams with major size and inside presence, Louisville has and will continue to struggle.

When your most talented player doesn’t suit up, it makes it more impossible to overcome.

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Tennessee

A look at new laws proposed in Tennessee

Published

2 days ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

A look at new laws proposed in Tennessee

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