With the recent denial of an injunction for Joey Aguilar to become eligible to play in the 2026 season, the Tennessee quarterback situation has shifted its focus to a couple of youngsters without much experience. However, both were big-time prospects coming out of the high school ranks, both recruited and landed by Josh Heupel and his offensive staff.
The leader heading into the spring is George MacIntyre, who signed with Tennessee in the class of 2025. MacIntyre, a mid-state product out of Brentwood,
Tennessee, comes from a football family that has already made its mark in the Volunteer State. His grandfather George was the head coach at both UT-Martin and Vanderbilt in the ‘70s and ‘80s. His uncle Mike has been the head coach at San Jose State, Colorado and FIU.
Now MacIntyre, a redshirt freshman, will try to win the starting quarterback job for Tennessee.
As a prospect
The 6-6, 195 pound passer finished his recruiting cycle as a 4-star prospect, ranked 151st overall in the class, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. That billing wasn’t always the case though. MacIntyre committed to Tennessee as a 5-star prospect, ranked among the top 20 players in the class. An injury kept him out of the Elite 11 competition though, which seemed to start his slide down.
At Brentwood Academy, MacIntyre threw for 3,229 yards and 25 touchdowns as a junior. He threw for another 2,702 yards and 17 touchdowns as a senior. He was also a star on the basketball court, earning multiple D-1 offers.
MacIntyre’s best physical trait was, and likely still is, his big arm and touch down the field. That was on full display at the high school level.
MacIntyre committed to Tennessee in January of 2024 over offers from Alabama, LSU, Georgia and dozens of others.
MacIntyre in 2025
MacIntyre enrolled early at Tennessee ahead of spring practice last year. He was immediately pushed into action in a battle for the backup quarterback role behind Nico Iamaleava — and briefly — a potential starter after Iamaleava left. Tennessee quickly added Joey Aguilar though, allowing the true freshman to redshirt and get acclimated to the Heupel offense.
He would make his debut against ETSU in September, completing six of seven passes for 52 yards. He came back later in the year, going one of two for 17 yards.
What’s next for MacIntyre
Josh Heupel has done a great job during his time at Tennessee in adapting his offense to what he has. He’s not one that tries to fit players into his system — he adapts his system to his players. How does that look with MacIntyre running the show? Well, based on high school tape and traits, it should look at lot like what Tennessee ran with Aguilar.
MacIntrye fits with his ability to push the ball down the field, and he wouldn’t be short on weapons. Tennessee still has Braylon Staley and Mike Matthews, along with Radarious Jackson and Travis Smith. They’ll add 5-star receiver Tristan Keys and 4-star speedster Tyreek King. Tight ends Ethan Davis and DaSaahn Brame are back, along with four starters up front. Not to mention DeSean Bishop’s return to the Tennessee backfield.
We’re just a few weeks away from spring camp opening where MacIntyre will enter with a big lead. No. 2 overall player in the 2026 class Faizon Brandon will also be in the mix, but he’s a year behind in learning the offense. Veteran Ryan Staub is also in the room, but likely for depth purposes only.
Heupel took a couple of swings in the transfer portal for some big name seniors, but came up empty. Now with Aguilar’s fate sealed, it’s time for Heupel to turn to a name that he recruited out of high school. It’s just the second time that’s happened during his time in Knoxville, with the first attempt ending poorly due to something that was seemingly out of his control.
Regardless of how the competition plays out, it will be the fifth new starting quarterback for Tennessee in five years.
For now, all eyes are on the slender MacIntyre as he attempts to put on weight ahead of a loaded SEC schedule. New strength coach Derek Owings undoubtedly hit the ground running on that front. MacIntrye was listed at 195 pounds officially by Tennessee last season after signing with the Vols around the 180 mark. I would imagine that number would be well over 200 by the fall.
So in a just a few weeks now, the quarterback competition is officially on. MacIntyre has already been working with his receivers on his own, building chemistry ahead of a key offseason. How will things look? Nobody knows — but we’re all excited to see.
