Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel hasn’t announced yet who will start at quarterback for the Vols against Alabama on Saturday.

“We’ll find out here through the week,” said Heupel on Monday when asked who will start at quarterback. “We’ll get on the grass tomorrow and we’ll work towards Saturday.”

True freshman Faizon Brandon won the starting quarterback job during fall camp and started the first five games of the season. Brandon, however, suffered a shoulder injury in the Vols’ loss to Texas in late September. He started against Auburn two weeks ago, but he was ineffective in the first half and was replaced by sophomore George MacIntyre.

MacIntyre led Tennessee to a come-from-behind win over Auburn and then made his first career start on the road against Arkansas and helped the Vols earn a 24-17 win over the Razorbacks.

Comment from Tennessee starting wide receiver shows who should start at quarterback against Alabama

Heupel left the door open to Brandon returning to the starting role by clarifying after the Arkansas game that the freshman wasn’t benched, but has instead been sidelined due to injury.

Brandon and MacIntyre were listed as co-starters ahead of the Arkansas game (Brandon was available only as an emergency option).

There are some who still feel like Brandon is the best option because he has the higher ceiling. Others think MacIntyre deserves to start based on how he played against Auburn and Arkansas.

I think it has to be MacIntyre. He wasn’t perfect against Arkansas (three turnovers), but he’s throwing the ball down the field better than Brandon is right now. MacIntyre is giving his teammates a chance to make plays, and he’s building some important in-game chemistry with the Vols’ top wide receivers.

Tennessee junior wide receiver Braylon Staley, in fact, pointed out on Monday that he loves the deep ball that MacIntyre is throwing right now.

Staley specifically noted this week that he “loved” the throw from MacIntyre on a long completion against Arkansas that was called back because the official said Staley stepped out of bounds during his route.

“I loved it,” said Staley of the throw. “Just him being able to trust us in one-on-one situations, being able to throw the ball up and knowing that we’re going to be able to come down with it.”

Got a backup quarterback in his first start taking a whipping as he lets this go and rips an absolute DIME down the sideline, nice job by Braylon Staley stacking vertically, subtle push off timed perfectly, and high pointing the football (still waiting on a down the sideline… pic.twitter.com/tERjBjaRc8

— Benjamin Hodge ✟ (@benjaminwhodge) October 12, 2026

MacIntyre is getting into a rhythm right now and he’s building important trust with the wide receivers. He has to be the guy right now. It’s clear from Staley’s comment that there’s a real connection building there.

Now, I don’t think Staley is endorsing one quarterback over the other. I don’t think there’s anything like that going on here. The comment simply shows that MacIntyre is throwing the ball well right now and that Staley is comfortable with the sophomore quarterback.

And I think as long as that comfort and trust is there, then Tennessee has to roll with MacIntyre until they have a reason not to.

The hope for the Vols’ offense is that things improve as the season progresses. The best way for that to happen is with continuity. MacIntyre, who now has six quarters of winning SEC football under his belt, is the option that provides continuity going into the Alabama game.

I still believe in Faizon Brandon, but George MacIntyre is right option to start against the Crimson Tide.