Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel hasn’t named a starting quarterback for the Arkansas game on Saturday, but the full expectation is that sophomore George MacIntyre will be the guy when the Vols take the field against the Razorbacks.

MacIntyre replaced true freshman Faizon Brandon in the second quarter of Tennessee’s 24-14 win over Auburn last week.

Brandon, who is dealing with a shoulder injury that he suffered against Texas two weeks ago, wasn’t seeing the field very well against the Tigers, which is what led to the quarterback change.

Is Faizon Brandon healthy enough to play against Arkansas if he’s called upon?

The hope for the Vols is that MacIntyre plays well against Arkansas and escapes the game without injury.

But if MacIntyre is forced from the game for any reason — whether it’s performance or injury — would Brandon, who is listed as questionable on the SEC availability report, be healthy enough to play?

Unfortunately, there’s no clear answer right now.

“I think Faizon’s going to travel, and I think he would be available on an emergency basis,” said VolQuest’s Brent Hubbs on 104.5 The Zone’s Ramon and Will on Friday. “How much they would do with him, and how much they would play him? I mean, the head football coach still won’t name George the starter — even though it was written by everybody on Tuesday that he was the starter — so I don’t think any of us have a great feel for exactly what their quarterback situation would look like if they had to go somewhere else on Saturday.

“I don’t think it’ll be a quick hook from a performance standpoint for George — because I think they’re trying to rest Faizon and they certainly want him to get healthier. He is improving, and we’ll see where it’s at moving forward. He has not thrown the football much this week at all — similar to last week (before the Auburn game) and the way things went for him last week. (Third string QB) Ryan Staub is available in a pinch. Faizon, I think, can come in and do some things if they needed him to. But certainly the hope is that George takes this thing and runs with it through four quarters.”

Again, the hope for Tennessee is that MacIntyre plays every offensive snap and the backup quarterback situation doesn’t come into play.

But the backup quarterback, as we all know, is always just one snap away from being in the game. And for now, we aren’t exactly sure what it would like if MacIntyre is forced out of the game against Arkansas.