Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel sent a message about the Vols’ quarterback situation on Saturday.

And while some fans aren’t on board with the message, it’s absolutely the right thing to do.

The expectation is that sophomore George MacIntyre will start at quarterback against Arkansas on Saturday in Fayetteville.

True freshman Faizon Brandon, who won the job during fall camp, started the first five games of the season, but he was benched against Auburn last weekend after he was ineffective in the first half (Brandon is also dealing with an injury to his throwing shoulder).

MacIntyre played well in two-plus quarters against Auburn — the Vols were trailing 7-3 when he entered the game and they ended up winning 24-14.

Some fans feel like MacIntyre should be named the starter moving forward as a result.

But that’s not what Heupel is doing.

Instead, Heupel has MacIntyre and Brandon listed as co-starters ahead of the Arkansas game.

I think this is 100 percent the right move. MacIntyre may prove to be the guy, but he’s gotta do it for more than two quarters against Auburn. Additionally, it would be silly to officially demote Brandon after a rough stretch in his first two SEC games — the North Carolina native is still a player with a ton of upside.

The message from Heupel is essentially that one of these quarterbacks has to go take the job (similar to how Hendon Hooker took it in 2021 after replacing Joe Milton).

Neither quarterback has emerged as “the guy” just yet. And until one of them does, neither should be listed as the starter.

Now, if MacIntyre plays well against Arkansas and then has a big game against Alabama next week, maybe the conversation changes. But until something like that happens, this is the right move by Josh Heupel.