Josh Heupel is making a smart move with Tennessee’s quarterback situation that some fans don’t understand
Tennessee Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel isn’t interested in naming a starting quarterback for this weekend’s game against South Carolina.
To the surprise of probably no one, Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel did not name a starting quarterback on Monday.
The Vols will travel to Columbia this weekend to take on the South Carolina Gamecocks. And Heupel still isn’t ready to commit to a starter, even though sophomore George MacIntyre has played the last 10 quarters of football for Tennessee.
MacIntyre has led Tennessee to wins over Auburn (after replacing true freshman Faizon Brandon in the second quarter), Arkansas, and Alabama in the last three weeks.
George MacIntyre has to be the guy against South Carolina, but Josh Heupel is handling this the right way
Heupel’s refusal to name an official starter has frustrated some fans, but I think it’s the right way to handle this situation.
Tennessee seems set to ride the hot hand, and right now, that’s clearly MacIntyre. But the Vols also still have a lot of belief in Brandon, a player with immense upside.
Both of these quarterbacks are still young. MacIntyre has played well, but he could have a bad game at any point. By not naming an official starter, Heupel gives himself some freedom. If MacIntyre isn’t playing well, Heupel can take him out of a game and put Brandon in without it being framed as MacIntyre losing the starting job.
It gives Tennessee’s head coach the flexibility to go back and forth between his two quarterbacks if that’s what he has to do to win games.
Now, I’m not suggesting that’s what Heupel should do, or that it’s what he will do. But it gives him that option without feeding into a bunch of “so-and-so got benched” headlines.
This approach also means that opponents have to continue to spend time preparing for both quarterbacks.
Heupel has to do whatever needs to be done on a given Saturday to win. So far, that’s exactly what he’s done. The move to MacIntyre against Auburn paid off, and the Vols have kept winning since.
Ultimately, I think this is going to be MacIntyre’s job until he falters. If MacIntyre has a rough outing, maybe Brandon gets a look, and if he gets hot, the Vols will ride with him.
Either way, Heupel is keeping his options open with a couple of talented young quarterbacks who both still have a ton of growth ahead of them. It’s a tough situation to manage, but I think Heupel is handling it well and he’s keeping the Vols on the right side of the scoreboard in the process.
