Tennessee sophomore quarterback George MacIntyre hasn’t put up crazy numbers the last two weeks, but he’s played winning football for the Vols.

MacIntyre saw his first significant SEC action two weeks ago when he replaced true freshman Faizon Brandon in the second quarter against Auburn. The Vols were trailing 7-3 when MacIntyre entered the game. Tennessee went on to win 24-14.

With Brandon sidelined due to a combination of injury and performance, MacIntyre made his first career start last Saturday against Arkansas.

The Tennessee native passed for 247 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions in the 24-17 win.

Voice of the Vols Mike Keith points out the trait that he’s noticing about George MacIntyre

Voice of the Vols Mike Keith joined WNML’s SportsTalk on Monday and he pointed out an important trait that he’s starting to notice about MacIntyre.

Keith noted that MacIntyre’s elite competitiveness and “gamer” mentality has really stood out the last couple of weeks.

“I think it was one of those performances where, if you watch the game and take out everything else and you’re just watching the flow of the game, you felt like he really helped them win the game,” said Keith of MacIntyre’s performance against Arkansas. “And in the end, that’s what it’s about. And that’s really what George’s career has been about.

“When he as at the Brentwood Academy, he was a gamer. I mean, he played on one really bad team at Brentwood Academy, the worst team they probably have had in 50 years, and he still kept him in games with how he competed. And I think we saw that competitiveness in him — that moxie — against Arkansas. When things would go wrong…I mean, listen, for a lot of people, after the fumble at the end of the first half, they would have cratered. They would have absolutely cratered. And he just came back and kept playing, and that’s what you want to see. I see good things out of George MacIntyre.”

Traits obviously matter when it comes to quarterback play. You’ve gotta be able to make the throws, and you’ve got to be able to move around in the pocket and create plays with your legs. But traits don’t matter much unless you’re an elite competitor with a true next play mentality.

And we saw that from MacIntyre against Arkansas. He had some plays that didn’t go his way — a fumble and a couple of interceptions — but he stayed composed in the face of adversity. If a talented quarterback can consistently do that, they’re usually going to give their team a chance.

That’s why MacIntyre has to be the guy — at least for now — for the Volunteers.