Tennessee sophomore George MacIntyre is 2-0 in his first two games as the Vols’ starting quarterback.

MacIntyre led the Volunteers to a road win over Arkansas in his first career start before this past Saturday’s win at home against Alabama.

It hasn’t been perfect — four turnovers in two games isn’t ideal — but the former four-star recruit has been efficient in the passing game, which has given Tennessee’s offense a boost.

ESPN’s Cole Cubelic likes what he’s seeing from George MacIntyre

ESPN’s Cole Cubelic broke down the Tennessee vs Alabama game this week on The Cube Show, and he shared some thoughts on MacIntyre’s performance against the Crimson Tide.

“I thought George MacIntyre played a great game,” said Cubelic. “I really do. And he had two, maybe three, but two for sure bad throws. One was an overthrow — just a rough throw. But he was given some space and given some opportunity, and he made some very important passes and completions in this game. And he had a couple of rips, too. You’re like, ‘Woo, okay, we can win with that.’

“More importantly, though, where was the backbreaking play that he had? He didn’t have it. He didn’t give Alabama the ball at a point in time when it would have cost them the game. I don’t need to see him running a whole lot. That’s not his strength. But he got away from some pressure, and then what did he do a couple of those times? He throws the ball away. And a lot of people just can’t get behind this, but there are times that throwing the ball away is the best decision, and he made that [decision] multiple times.”

“The other thing with MacIntyre offensively is that he took the checkdowns,” added Cubelic. “He threw the ball away. He left the pocket when he needed to. He avoided catastrophe. All of those things, when we talk about operating an offense, are very important.”

MacIntyre is playing well right now in part because he’s not trying to do too much. He’s wisely taking what the defense gives him and trying to get the ball into the hands of Tennessee’s playmakers.

And the great news for the Vols is that MacIntyre is only going to continue to get better as he sees more action. He’s far from a finished product at this point.