Former Vols QB points out the underappreciated thing George MacIntyre did against Alabama that Tennessee can’t afford to lose
Sophomore George MacIntyre led the Tennessee Volunteers to a win over the Alabama Crimson Tide last Saturday in Knoxville.
Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel didn’t name a starting quarterback on Monday for the Vols’ upcoming game against South Carolina, but it’s clear that it’s sophomore George MacIntyre’s job until it’s not.
MacIntyre led Tennessee to a huge win against Alabama this past weekend. As long as he’s playing well, he’s going to be the guy for the Vols.
One of the things that MacIntyre is doing best right now, and it’s one of the reasons the coaches are comfortable with him running the offense right now, is that he’s keeping the offense out of negative plays.
It’s not always the sexy play, but MacIntyre has avoided sacks by throwing the ball away at times or dumping the ball off to his checkdown. Those under-the-radar plays, for example, kept Tennessee in scoring range against Alabama and allowed the Vols to put three points on the board instead of zero points on several drives.
“I don’t care that he didn’t throw a touchdown pass,” said former Vols quarterback Jonathan Crompton on the A to Z Sports postgame show. “I don’t care that he didn’t run for a touchdown. … The first four drives of the game, third-and-seven or longer and in field goal range, he didn’t take a sack. He didn’t turn the ball over and he let us get points. We know that we’ve got to have touchdowns, not field goals. But points are points at a certain point as well.
“I really genuinely think the way he played — he didn’t make a crazy mistake and he didn’t put the ball in harm’s way. You know what I’m saying? The interception he threw…that’s a bang bang crap happens type of play. That’s nobody’s quote unquote fault, but it goes down as the quarterback’s interception. He made the right read. He pulled on the RPO. It wasn’t, ‘Oh my God, what is he doing?’ We didn’t have that decision (from MacIntyre). And then the one other play that I go to is they ran the same side bootleg, which I did like, and Mike Matthews sits in the hole. He runs a deep flood route. The corner is kind of sitting there screwing with him, and then he sits and kind of shuffles back in…and then Matthews just pops up and he just bangs it on him for a first down. (MacIntyre) is seeing the field. I don’t see why he’s not our QB moving forward from here on out. I don’t care if he has a bad game. That’s going to happen. I just think he’s earned that right.”
True freshman Faizon Brandon’s ability to make big plays is a huge reason why he won the job during fall camp. But MacIntyre’s ability to make the right play, at least right now, is why he has to be the guy for the Vols going forward.
