College football insider shares midweek update on Tennessee’s QB situation and whether a decision has been made on will start against Alabama
The Tennessee Volunteers aren’t revealing who their starting quarterback will be this weekend against the Alabama Crimson Tide.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel shared the latest update on Tennessee’s starting quarterback situation on Wednesday afternoon.
Tennessee is set to play Alabama this weekend, and Vols head coach Josh Heupel hasn’t said whether sophomore George MacIntyre or true freshman Faizon Brandon will start at quarterback.
MacIntyre made his first career start last weekend in the Vols’ 24-17 win over Arkansas.
Brandon, who started the first five games of the season, is dealing with a shoulder injury he suffered in Tennessee’s loss to Texas late last month.
Thamel reported that no decision has been made on who will start against Alabama, but that all the signs currently point to MacIntyre being the guy against the Crimson Tide.
“As the week goes on here, both Faizon Brandon and George MacIntyre have gotten reps for Tennessee,” said Thamel. “There has been no decision definitively made on who is going to start the game against Alabama as of right now.
“MacIntyre is the presumptive favorite to get the start. Obviously, Brandon’s still dealing with that shoulder injury from the Texas game. He was extremely limited in practice last week. He’s ramped up his reps this week. We will see if and how much he’ll be able to go come Saturday. So for now, MacIntyre appears to be in the driver’s seat to get his second career start, and this one will be against the Tide.”
The Vols’ coaching staff still has high hopes for Brandon, despite his rough outings against Auburn and Texas. And they should — he’s an extremely talented player.
But it has to be MacIntyre who gets the start this week against Alabama. MacIntyre played well against Arkansas and is starting to find some rhythm. Tennessee needs to roll with the hot hand to start the game against Alabama.
