Following the final denial for Joey Aguilar’s additional season of eligibility, all eyes of the Tennessee football world turned to George MacIntyre. The 6-6, former 4-star in-state prospect was entering his second season in the program with sudden eyes on the starting quarterback job in Knoxville.
Tennessee went after a couple of senior signal callers in the transfer portal, ultimately coming up empty. It quickly became apparent that a quarterback battle was upon us, set to play out between MacIntyre
and 5-star freshman Faizon Brandon.
That battle has been ongoing over the past few weeks during spring practice.
“In general I’ve been really pleased with their decision-making, taking care of the football,” Josh Heupel said of his quarterbacks this week. “There’s been a couple of things where they’ve maybe not seen it right, or as the play’s broken down and had to move, body in an awkward body position where they haven’t been as accurate or sound in the decision-making.
“Collectively as a group, they’ve been really good. There’s a couple of things that each of them got to continue to grow in, but that’s spring ball and through the course of summer and training camp, too.”
Enter Brandon, who signed with Tennessee as the No. 2 overall player in the class of 2026. The 6-3, 200 pound quarterback was a longtime Tennessee commit, handpicked by the staff as the passer of the future. However, as camp goes on, the buzz surrounding Brandon in this battle continues to grow.
As a head coach, you’re always going to say the competition is open with multiple options going for the job, even if you think you have an idea of who it’s going to be. For Heupel this spring, his ‘wide-open’ comments about this battle seem to ring very true, and the battle seems to be neck and neck.
“For a true freshman, getting here in January, seven weeks offseason, what we did and then hitting the ground in spring ball through today – he’s been really sound in what he’s done,” Heupel said. “I think the pass game, certainly. There’s a lot on our quarterbacks in the run game, too, and that’s an area that at times can be the hardest part for our quarterbacks, but he’s continued to progress in that.
“There’s still a lot left for him and everybody in that room for us to do what we need to, but as a true freshman, certainly pleased with what he’s done up until this point.”
MacIntyre has reportedly struggled with taking sacks in scrimmage environments, while Brandon has progressed quicker than most expected. Brandon apparently tossed a touchdown pass to DaSaahn Brame in last week’s scrimmage, but also threw a pick-six.
Ryan Staub, a veteran transfer and the assumed QB3 this fall, had this to say of both earlier in camp.
“George is a great leader,” Staub said. “George has all the intangibles. He’s tall. He’s got a strong arm. He’s very accurate. He’s decisive, quick. Great guy to learn from. He’s competitive. He’s a great addition to the room.
“And Faizon’s just – I mean, wow – kind of a freak of nature, like walks in at 6-3, 215 (pounds) as a true freshman. I mean, that’s impressive. He’s got raw ability, raw arm strength, and he’s smart. He’s learning this offense and it’s not easy.”
Not many were giving Brandon a big chance entering spring ball, but that seems to have changed in a pretty big way. In no way is this battle over — it will rage on through fall camp. However, it’s seemingly a true quarterback battle and the true freshman is absolutely in the thick of it with a legitimate chance to win it.
