Tennessee has accomplished a feat under Josh Heupel that only 2 other programs have; Vols will get a chance to do it again in 2026
The Tennessee Vols are looking to repeat a feat they accomplished in 2024.
The Tennessee Vols learned on Friday that quarterback Joey Aguilar won’t be returning to Rocky Top for the 2026 season.
Aguilar’s college football career is effectively over after a judge denied an injunction that would’ve allowed him to play for Tennessee in 2026.
According to VolQuest, Aguilar has 30 days to appeal the ruling. But as VolQuest noted, appeals can take anywhere from six months to a year to be heard. Aguilar will likely begin preparing full-time for the 2026 NFL Draft instead of appealing.
No Joey Aguilar means the Volunteers will need to rely on youth at the quarterback position in 2026
With Aguilar heading to the NFL, Tennessee will feature a three-man quarterback competition this spring and fall between redshirt freshman George MacIntyre, true freshman Faizon Brandon, and Colorado Buffaloes transfer Ryan Staub.
MacIntyre, due to his year of experience in Josh Heupel’s offensive system, is viewed as the favorite to win the job.
If MacIntyre wins the job as expected, Tennessee will attempt a feat that’s been accomplished only three other times.
Fortunately for Tennessee, the Vols are one of the three programs that have already done it.
Only three programs have made it to the 12-team College Football Playoff with a redshirt freshman quarterback: Tennessee in 2024 with Nico Iamaleava, Arizona State in 2024 with Sam Leavitt, and Ohio State in 2025 with Julian Sayin.
No team has made it to the College Football Playoff with a true freshman under center.
It’s far too early to predict if Tennessee will be playoff team in 2026 — this year’s version of the Vols hasn’t even officially practiced together yet. And, of course, we don’t know if Tennessee’s starting quarterback will be MacIntyre, Brandon, or Staub.
The most likely scenario, however, is that MacIntyre wins the job. And if MacIntyre does win the job, the odds suggest that Tennessee won’t be a playoff team. The Vols, though, are proof — thanks to their 2024 run with Iamaleava — that starting a redshirt freshman quarterback doesn’t mean the white flag is being waved. It won’t be an easy road, but getting to the playoff with MacIntyre will be doable for Tennessee — especially if Jim Knowles’ defense hits the ground running in year one in Knoxville.
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