Tennessee football officially added its quarterback of its 2024 recruiting class on Wednesday morning, signing four-star Jake Merklinger out of Calvary Day School in Savannah, Ga. Merklinger committed to the Vols on March 30 over his other finalists in Georgia, Michigan State and North Carolina.

Merklinger, who received a scholarship offer from the Vols in May of 2022 and was one of their top quarterback targets for months, is ranked the No. 129 overall prospect and No. 10 quarterback in the 2024 class and the No. 18 senior from the state of Georgia, according to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite. He’s also rated a four-star prospect by 247Sports, where he’s ranked the No. 221 overall player and No. 13 quarterback in the 2024 class.

The 6-foot-3, 195-pound gunslinger returned to Tennessee in November to see the Vols play host to top-ranked Georgia, attending his final game at Neyland Stadium as a recruit. He told GoVols247 recruiting analyst Ryan Callahan at the time that he enjoyed traveling to Knoxville, and that he was looking forward to getting an early start on his college career by participating in some of UT’s on-campus bowl practices this month before enrolling in January.

“I’m super excited to get up here,” Merklinger said. “It was really exciting to be back up here, see a crazy atmosphere and just get back to Knoxville. It was a tough game. That’s a good team. Talking to the coaches, I believe in them. I think they’ll bounce back and we’ll be good.”

Merklinger said he’s still excited about the direction of Tennessee’s program and the chance to play in the Vols’ fast-paced offense.

“I feel good about it,” he said. “I think it’s a very similar offense to mine, so I think that’ll help me when I get here. I’m just excited to get here. Watching their offense, it’s always been fun, explosive, and I think they’re really good.”

Earlier this year, before making his college decision, Merklinger admitted he “was stressed, but now I’m not.” He said he knows he’s “coming to Tennessee,” and he has spent most of his time over the past few weeks focusing on his Calvary Day team’s playoff run.

The Cavaliers ended their season Friday night with a 49-42 loss at Cedar Grove High School in Ellenwood, Ga. With Tennessee offensive coordinator Joey Halzle and first-year tight ends coach Alec Abeln in attendance, Merklinger completed 21 of 29 passes for 275 yards and five touchdowns, according to the Savannah Morning News, and also ran for a 22-yard touchdown with 4:16 remaining.

The lone quarterback commitment in Tennessee’s 2024 recruiting class, Merklinger has accepted an invitation to play in the Polynesian Bowl on Jan. 19 in Honolulu.

UNC Releases Official Depth Chart For Mayo Bowl

The Tar Heels will face West Virginia on Dec. 27 in Charlotte.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — North Carolina will conclude its 2023 season in the same place it started. Nearly four months after its season-opening win in Charlotte, the Tar Heels return to Bank of America Stadium to face West Virginia on Dec. 27 in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. The game kicks off at 5:30pm and will be televised by ESPN.

On Thursday, UNC released its official depth chart for the game. Here’s the position-by-position look, with some notes and coordinator comments …

OFFENSIVE LINE

Left Tackle
61 – Diego Pounds (6-5.5, 330, So.)
76 – William Barnes (6-4, 320, Sr.)

Left Guard
63 – Ed Montilus (6-3.25, 315, Gr.)
64 – Malik McGowan (6-3.5, 320, Jr.)

Center
53 – Willie Lampkin (5-11, 290, Jr.) -or-
54 – Chance Carroll (6-2, 295, Jr.)

Right Guard
76 – William Barnes (6-4, 320, Sr.)
52 – Jonathan Adorno (6-4, 315, Sr.)

Right Tackle
75 – Spencer Rolland (6-6, 315, Gr.)
78 – Trevyon Green (6-7.5, 340, Fr.*)

Corey Gaynor, who started every game at center the past two seasons, has opted out, so Willie Lampkin is moving over from guard. Lampkin has experience there, having played the entire 2022 season at center while at Coastal Carolina, earning Sun Belt Offensive Lineman of the Year honors.

Chip Lindsey: “Willie’s excited about his opportunity to play center, kind of gives him a head start maybe on next year … the number one focus for us is making sure that communication is good and making sure we’re all on the same page. Willie and Conner are gonna get there. They’re both really smart guys, but they don’t have the reps in the bank, so to speak. But so far, so good.”

TIGHT END

Tight End
82 – Deems May (6-1.75, 230, Fr.*)
87 – Cort Halsey (6-2, 215, Fr.)
89 – Cal Tierney (6-5, 235, Fr.*)

There are no scholarship tight ends available for the bowl game, as Bryson Nesbit and John Copenhaver are out with injuries, while Kamari Morales entered the transfer portal.

Chip Lindsey: “We’re thin, for sure. I think Deems is doing a great job — he’s played a little bit here and there, but we’re trying to find some more depth and we’re going to have to get very creative. We’ve been a huge ’12’ personal and sometimes ’13’ tight personnel team this year, which fit our team. But those three tight ends that were playing all those reps are unavailable. So we got to make sure that we try to give our guys the best plan we can and we’re still working through some of that.”

QUARTERBACK

Quarterback
15 – Conner Harrell (6-0.5, 205, Fr.*)
14 – Jefferson Boaz (6-7, 235, Jr.)

Drake Maye is the glaring absence here, as he’s declared for the NFL Draft and opted out of the game, giving Conner Harrell his first career start. Jefferson Boaz is in the transfer portal but will still suit up and back up Harrell.

Chip Lindsey: “I think I’ve seen him more confident Connor probably just because he’s the guy that’s got to go out with that first group, he’s gotta make sure the huddle is right on the sideline, he’s gotta get the call right up front, and the older guys are looking at him expecting him to be able to do it. And I really liked the way he’s responded.”

RUNNING BACK

Running Back
28 – Omarion Hampton (6-0, 220, So.)
24 – British Brooks (5-11, 225, Gr.)
4 – Caleb Hood (5-11.5, 225, Jr.)

WIDE RECEIVER

Wide Receiver
2 – Gavin Blackwell (5-11.5, 180, So.)
3 – Chris Culliver (6-1, 185, Fr.)

Wide Receiver
6 – Nate McCollum (5-8.5, 185, Jr.)
7 – Christian Hamilton (5-11, 185, Fr.)

Wide Receiver
5 – J.J. Jones (6-2.25, 210, Jr.)
11 – Paul Billups (6-1.5, 195, Fr.)

Tez Walker’s NFL departure provides an opening at one spot, while the new injury to Kobe Paysour removes another experienced wideout from the depth chart. This is a prime opportunity for others to emerge, including Nate McCollum, who made a big splash with a 15-catch game in Week 3, but has since battled injuries and subsequent confidence hurdles throughout the season.

Chip Lindsey: “Nate struggled early on with an injury and he’s gotten better and I think that confidence has gotten better, too. I’ve seen a Nate that’s what I saw in preseason camp and early practice, during bowl prep. I’m excited about seeing him play.”

DEFENSIVE LINE

Power End
10 – Desmond Evans (6-6.25, 275, Sr.)
12 – Beau Atkinson (6-5.5, 270, Fr.*)

Nose
98 – Kevin Hester Jr. (6-3.5, 315, Sr.) -or-
0 – Tomari Fox (6-3, 300, Sr.)
4 – Travis Shaw (6-5.25, 335, So.)

3 Tech
8 – Myles Murphy (6-4.5, 310, Sr.) -or-
5 – Jahvaree Ritzie (6-4.5, 295, Jr.)

Jack
25 – Kaimon Rucker (6-1.5, 265, Sr.)
3 – Amari Gainer (6-3.5, 235, Gr.)

Myles Murphy declared for the NFL Draft, but is still playing in the bowl game.

LINEBACKER

Linebacker (Mike)
17 – Amare Campbell (6-0, 230, Fr.)
30 – Michael Short (6-3, 225, Fr.)

Linebacker (Will)
23 – Power Echols (6-0, 225, Jr.)
34 – Caleb LaVallee (6-0.25, 225, Fr.)

Defensive star and leader Cedric Gray’s NFL departure leaves a big void in the middle of the defense.

Gene Chizik: “There’s no way you can’t miss (Gray’s) presence. But I’ll tell you what, we’ve had some young guys really step up. Power Echols was moved over into his spot, and then Amare Campbell’s moved over to Power’s spot. And we’ve trained Power some a little bit in the past at both anyway. The absence of (Gray not) being on the field is definitely felt, but our guys have stepped up, they’ve really had some good days.”

SECONDARY

Cornerback
9 – Armani Chatman (6-0, 205, Gr.)
21 – Kaleb Cost (5-10, 190, Fr.)

Boundary Safety
1 – Stick Lane (5-8.5, 190, Gr.)
13 – Ayden Duncanson (6-0.25, 185, Fr.)

Field Safety
2 – Don Chapman (6-1, 200, Sr.)
27 – Gio Biggers (6-1.5, 200, Gr.)

Cornerback
29 – Marcus Allen (6-1.5, 185, So.)
15 – Tre Miller (5-9.5, 175, Fr.)

Star
21 – Kaleb Cost (5-10, 190, Fr.) -or-
26 – D.J. Jones (5-10.5, 200, Sr.)

Secondary standout Alijah Huzzie will miss the bowl game as he continues to recover from an injury. In the subsequent depth chart reshuffling, some younger players are expected to see extended action. D.J. Jones is in the transfer portal but will still play.

Gene Chizik: “Kaleb Cost is gonna be a guy that you’re gonna see more of than you’ve seen all year. It’s a great opportunity for him, he gets three weeks to get ready. So you’ll see him. You’ll see Tre Miller. We planned on playing Tre Miller more earlier in the year, and then he had some health issues with some injuries that set him back every time it seemed like he was going to move forward. So we expect to see him and we expect to play him a good bit right at the corner spot.”

SPECIAL TEAMS

Place-Kicker
98 – Noah Burnette (5-10, 175, Jr.)
37 – Liam Boyd (6-0, 200, Fr.*)

Kickoff Specialist
37 – Liam Boyd (6-0, 200, Fr.*)

Punter
96 – Tom Maginness (6-0.25, 205, So.)
92 – Cole Maynard (6-1, 180, So.)

Snapper
61 – Drew Little (5-11.25, 240, Gr.)
62 – Spencer Triplett (6-2, 235, Jr.)

Holder
92 – Cole Maynard (6-1, 180, So.)

Kickoff Return
3 – Chris Culliver (6-1, 185, Fr.)
6 – Nate McCollum (5-8.5, 185, Jr.)

Punt Return
6 – Nate McCollum (5-8.5, 185, Jr.)
21 – Kaleb Cost (5-10, 190, Fr.)