Lane Kiffin’s stance on paying QBs makes a lot of sense, and it’s exactly what Josh Heupel needs to do at Tennessee with his QB situation
LSU head coach Lane Kiffin made a good point about paying quarterbacks recently, and it could be the answer to Josh Heupel’s quarterback situation at Tennessee.
One of the big discussions happening among Tennessee fans right now is the program’s quarterback situation for the 2027 season.
The Vols have two talented young quarterbacks in freshman Faizon Brandon and sophomore George MacIntyre.
Brandon won the starting job in fall camp, but he didn’t play well in his first two SEC starts (Texas and Auburn), and he also suffered a shoulder injury (in the game against Texas).
MacIntyre, who replaced Brandon in the Vols’ win over Auburn, has started the last three games for Tennessee (he’s gone 2-1 in those starts, and he played well in the loss to South Carolina two weeks ago).
The general feeling has been that Tennessee won’t be able to keep both quarterbacks this offseason.
Now, we have no idea what either player is currently thinking, so it’s not a given that either Brandon or MacIntyre will transfer. There are several factors that will go into that decision. Does another program make a big offer? Is Tennessee only willing to pay one of them?
I think the best-case scenario for the Vols would be to follow LSU head coach Lane Kiffin’s advice and pay both quarterbacks.
Kiffin recently pointed out that he always pays two quarterbacks because you never know what could happen over the course of the season (injury and/or quarterback performance). His feeling is that if you pay one quarterback and that guy gets hurt (or doesn’t play well), then the whole season could be ruined.
“We always go pay a second quarterback,” said Kiffin. “… The one when I saw that that I said I’ll never not go pay a second quarterback is when Oklahoma was a really good team. Jeff Lebby was there, and they lose the quarterback (Dillon Gabriel). They lose [49-0] against Texas [because they lost] their quarterback.
“So that’s really why we got Trinidad Chambliss a year ago (at Ole Miss), and you see what happened when our quarterback (Austin Simmons) got hurt there. And we have three really good ones on our roster here (at LSU) because that. To me, you can’t just put everything into one quarterback, and then you’ve really wasted your whole team and what you paid for and put together when that guy gets hurt.”
That’s a wise strategy from Kiffin. There’s simply too much money being invested in these rosters to go all-in on one quarterback.
MacIntyre and Brandon are both young players. Regardless of how the 2026 season ends, it would be best for both players to continue their development in the same system. We’ve seen that bouncing from school to school isn’t great for development.
Tennessee should pay both quarterbacks to stay in 2027. Obviously, the players have to be on board with that. But it would probably be the best-case scenario for the Vols.
It would give Tennessee two talented options who have experience in the system. And it would give Heupel some insurance in case one quarterback gets hurt or just doesn’t play well.
I don’t think Tennessee can go all-in on MacIntyre and kick Brandon to the curb based on half a season. And that’s not to be dismissive of MacIntyre — he deserves to be the starter right now based on the way he’s played. But the Vols’ coaching staff put a lot of time into recruiting Brandon. It would be silly to invest all of that time and then watch him transfer after one season. It would also be silly to move on from MacIntyre after he’s played well and shown growth this season.
Heupel should follow Kiffin’s lead and pay both guys. The playing time can get sorted out on the field. Both guys have to go earn it every day.
I don’t know who the best longterm option will be for Tennessee. I don’t think anyone can answer that question right now. But I know I’d like to see both quarterbacks stay in Heupel’s system for another year and continue their development.
Quarterbacks, in general, need to understand that it’s not a race to the NFL. They can make plenty of money in college while focusing on their development and be better prepared to have success in the NFL down the road.
