Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel is trying to do one of the toughest things in college sports right now: manage a murky situation with two young quarterbacks who would instantly be offered millions of dollars to transfer if they entered the portal.

Heupel needs to win now, and he also needs to figure out if true freshman Faizon Brandon or sophomore George MacIntyre is the best option for Tennessee in 2027.

Brandon started the first five games of the season before getting benched in the second quarter of the Vols’ 24-14 win over Auburn last weekend.

MacIntyre replaced Brandon against Auburn and played well enough to earn the start against Arkansas this weekend.

Part of the reason Brandon was benched is because he didn’t play well against Texas or Auburn. The other part of the reason he was benched is because he’s not healthy after a suffering shoulder injury early in the game against Texas (Brandon is listed as questionable for the Arkansas game).

These types of situations are mismanaged all the time across college football (and even in the NFL).

CBS Sports’ John Talty and Chris Hummer, however, feel like Heupel is handling this particular situation as well as anyone could.

“Tennessee was active (last winter) about trying to get a transfer quarterback to be kind of that one-year bridge before you go to Faizon Brandon,” said Talty. “I don’t think the ultimate goal was to have to play him in year one, but then you do, and then it doesn’t look great. And then you get in this tricky spot where I think Tennessee finds themselves in — where Faizon is probably not the best option in this current moment with a roster, especially with the defense, that feels like it could be a playoff contender.”

“With that said, you’ve invested a lot of not only financial money but also time and effort in recruiting Faizon Brandon, who was the number one overall recruit, to Tennessee. You can’t destroy his long-term confidence. You can’t destroy what you’re trying to build with him. So it’s a really tricky dynamic, I think, for Josh Heupel to have to manage. I do think the solution that they’ve found feels like it helps everyone protect their ego a little bit. Like, it’s not a benching. It’s an injury that allows [Brandon] maybe to get some time to heal up and continue to grow as a young quarterback. And you see what MacIntyre can do for you.”

“If you can keep winning games like they have, then you might want to keep riding that,” continued Talty. “And you understand that Faizon is just a little slower than we thought to develop. If he looks bad, then you can just go back to Faizon. Like, ‘Hey, he’s healed now. Let’s go to him.’ So it’s something that Heupel is going to probably have to manage throughout the season. But I do think the solution is a good middle ground for right now.”

“You’re now seven or eight weeks away from an off-season decision about what your quarterback room looks like in 2027,” added Hummer. “So Tennessee’s trying to get a look (at both QBs) and also give itself its best chance to win. And I think with the true freshman quarterback, you’re not harming your long-term chances of keeping him by benching him for a couple games — especially if it has to do with an injury. And I think you’re seeing Josh Heupel manage this as best as he can while giving his team the best chance to win.”

I know there’s a lot of talk out there that Heupel should’ve gone harder after a transfer quarterback this past offseason. I understand that conversation. But it’s not like Heupel can go back and change his offseason approach. This is the situation Tennessee is in. Heupel can’t spend time lamenting the fact that he didn’t go after a transfer quarterback. All he can do right now is manage the situation he has, and he’s doing a pretty dang good job.

MacIntyre and Brandon are both talented quarterbacks. If Vols fans can rally around them and support them while they go through some growing pains, I think you’ll see those two players become really good SEC quarterbacks.