‘There’s a little bit of a misconception’ – Tennessee’s quarterback battle isn’t going the way many thought it would so far
The Tennessee Vols’ quarterback competition between redshirt freshman George MacIntyre, true freshman Faizon Brandon, and Colorado Buffaloes transfer Ryan Staub is still in its early stages.
The Tennessee Vols aren’t going to name a starting quarterback this spring.
But what happens this spring will go a long way in determining who starts for the Volunteers this fall.
Redshirt freshman George MacIntyre, true freshman Faizon Brandon, and Colorado Buffaloes transfer Ryan Staub are competing for the starting quarterback job on Rocky Top.
It’s MacIntyre and Brandon, though, that are viewed as the two favorites to win the job, with Staub likely serving as the No. 3 quarterback for Tennessee in 2026.
Vols insider shares the latest on Tennessee’s starting quarterback competition
Before the start of spring practice, there were a lot of folks who assumed this is MacIntyre’s job to lose.
The feeling was that MacIntyre’s one season of experience in Josh Heupel’s offense gave him a massive advantage over Brandon.
MacIntyre, however, only attempted nine passes last season. And he only saw action during garbage time.
VolQuest’s Brent Hubbs joined 104.5 The Zone’s Ramon and Will on Friday and explained how it’s a bit of a misconception that MacIntyre had a big “lead” going into this battle.
Hubbs also detailed how Tennessee’s quarterbacks have performed so far.
“I think that Faizon has managed the offense pretty well,” said Hubbs. “Now, he’s still got a long ways to go, and so does George. But I think Faizon’s ability to manage early in his career, to execute the huddle, execute the run game pretty well, and make decisions throwing the football — his talent is very obvious. I mean, he oozes with talent. He’s got size. He can throw it — all of that’s there. I think his ability to manage the game, and how much he has grasped the offense early in his career, is probably what has helped him.
“[VolQuest’s] Austin Price, I have to give him credit…for this point yesterday, and it was a great point. We think of George being so far advanced mentally because he’s been here for a year, but he really hasn’t played. He hasn’t even practiced in scrimmage settings where there’s really something on the line (before this spring). Because he was not going to win the job last August. And I know he had the first scrimmage where he was going against twos and threes and he did some good things, and [there was] some buzz about him. But the reality was he was never going to win the job. And so now, he’s in a place where he’s going against the best on defense. He is playing for the job, but he really doesn’t have that much more experience, other than sitting in meetings, than what Faizon Brandon has. So, there’s a little bit of a misconception that George entered with this great lead, and the thought now is that Faizon has just closed the gap that much. The gap to start probably wasn’t as wide as some of us acted like it was, or the perception of it was.”
“But give Faizon Brandon credit,” added Hubbs. “I think the mental side of it is the best thing he has shown through three weeks of spring, because everybody already knew the physical side was there.”
It’s still too early in this competition to suggest anyone is “leading”. But it’s becoming clear that this battle is much closer than most folks thought it was going to be this spring. And it also seems clear that MacIntyre’s one season of experience in Heupel’s offense isn’t nearly as big of an advantage as we thought it was.
Going into the spring, I thought MacIntyre was a heavy favorite to win the job.
And he still may win the job. But it feels like this battle, at least to this point, is going to be a complete coin flip.
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