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Going from high school to college is always a big change. It’s an even bigger change when joining Tennessee football’s offense, one of the fastest in the country.

For Jake Merklinger, that is no exception. The quarterback from Savannah, Georgia, began the spring needing to further acclimate to Tennessee’s offense after joining the Vols before the Citrus Bowl.

“The adjustment for sure was there, getting from high school to college,” Merklinger said. “It was definitely much faster, but the coaches have just helped me a lot with that, slowing the game down, being calm and being able to see things.”

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel has experience at the quarterback position. He was named an All-American and Heisman finalist at Oklahoma on his way to a BCS National Championship. Heupel can share that experience with his quarterback room, making Tennessee a strong destination for quarterbacks.

Offensive coordinator Joey Halzle also has quarterback experience, having played for the Sooners while Heupel was the quarterback coach. He uses that experience to coach the Tennessee quarterback room, and he sees significant strengths in Merklinger.

“Really athletic guy,” Halzle said. “High, high intelligence. Guys love him already. He’s one of the guys that just kind of fits right in and gets into the mold. Picked it up really, really quickly, which was great to see from us.”

Merklinger joins the Vols as a four-star recruit and the 11th-best quarterback in the country. He will initially sit behind Nico Iamaleava, just as Iamaleava sat behind Joe Milton III. Still, this season will be crucial to Merklinger’s development as a quarterback.

The 6-foot-3, 205-pound quarterback was able to join the Vols for the bowl practices and winter workouts, an opportunity that all freshman players don’t have. That time was vital for Merklinger, as he was able to become more comfortable once spring practice began.

“The winter workouts helped a lot,” Merklinger said. “That was a period where we got to progress a lot in the weight room, learn a new playbook, stuff like that. So, I feel like the coaches prepared us really well in winter workouts so we wouldn’t be so starstruck during the spring.”

Merklinger had a busy offseason. After participating in Tennessee’s Citrus Bowl preparation, he played in the Polynesian Bowl. He then returned for winter workouts. Getting significant reps is vital to his development, which he was able to do during the offseason.

Because of that effort, Merklinger’s spring practice performance has been strong so far. Halzle appreciates the freshman’s initial level of play while realizing he still has room to grow, which he can do in the remaining spring practices.

“A lot of times with young guys, you think, you know, going through the recruiting process, but until you get him in there, you get him in the room, you start working on him and seeing him take it to the field,” Halzle said. “He’s going out there and calling his protections correctly, calling the plays, getting us in the right plays and right checks. It’s been good to watch him do that, it’s impressive for the young guy.”