Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel hasn’t named a starting quarterback yet for this weekend’s matchup against the Arkansas Razorbacks.

True freshman Faizon Brandon started the first five games of the season before getting benched in the first half last week against Auburn.

Sophomore George MacIntyre played the rest of the game and led the Vols to a 24-14 win (the Vols were trailing 7-3 when MacIntyre entered the game).

Brandon, a former five-star recruit, is dealing with a shoulder injury that he sustained two weeks ago against Texas. He also hasn’t been seeing the field well as he adjusts to life in the SEC (Brandon just turned 18 four months ago).

The feeling is that MacIntyre will likely be the starter against Arkansas, but there’s no reason for Heupel to reveal his plan to the Razorbacks’ coaching staff this early in the week.

Arkansas defensive coordinator reveals if Tennessee not naming a starter matters to him

Arkansas defensive coordinator Ron Roberts met with reporters on Tuesday and he was asked if the Vols not naming a starter has an impact on his week of game prep.

“Not really,” said Roberts. “Because he’s (Heupel) going to run the scheme. You have scheme offenses, and you have guys that are gimmick (offenses) — they’ll roll out whatever you’ve had problems with before.

“They (Tennessee) are a system-oriented offense, so they’re going to come out there and they’re going to run their stuff. If they’re in 11 (personnel), this is what [they] do, or if they’re in 12 (personnel). Obviously, the one kid (Brandon) gives a little more dimension (with his legs). They don’t really have quarterback designed runs. They don’t. It’s not their operation. His thing is if he goes drop back, and everybody’s covered, here comes a second play (QB scramble).”

It sounds like Arkansas is preparing for Tennessee to operate the same offensively regardless of who is under center on Saturday in Fayetteville.