‘What if the reports aren’t true?’ – Nothing is certain with Tennessee’s quarterback situation against Alabama
ESPN reported on Thursday that sophomore George MacIntyre will start at quarterback for the Tennessee Vols against the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported on Thursday morning that sophomore quarterback George MacIntyre is expected to start for Tennessee on Saturday against Alabama.
The feeling all week has been that MacIntyre, who started in Tennessee’s win over Arkansas last weekend, will make his second career start against the Crimson Tide.
But true freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon, who started the first five games of the season for the Vols, returned to practice this week, which has led to some uncertainty about who will start against Bama (Brandon, who is listed as questionable for the game, is dealing with a shoulder injury).
One thing to note about Thamel’s report is that Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel hasn’t confirmed anything about the Vols’ quarterback situation.
Now, it certainly makes sense for MacIntyre to start given that he led the Vols to a come-from-behind win over Auburn in addition to the road win against Arkansas.
But nothing is written in stone about who will start. So there’s at least a possibility that it could still be Brandon who gets the nod against Alabama. Or, at the very least, Brandon could still see significant action this weekend.
“If Brandon is more available this week, even if MacIntyre is the starter, then all of a sudden it sort of forces everything (in Alabama’s game prep for Tennessee) in a different degree,” said Voice of the Vols Mike Keith on 104.5 The Zone’s Ramon and Will on Thursday. “And oh by the way, what if you get to the end of the week and the reports (about the QB situation) aren’t true and then you’ve got Brandon who’s going to play?
“I’m not suggesting the reports aren’t true — I’m just saying the whole thing with it being up in the air is something that Josh Heupel feels is an advantage. Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. But the head coach thinks that, and his is the only opinion that counts. And is it more up in the air for real if Brandon is more available than he was last week?”
It really feels like both quarterbacks are going to play in this game. I think we’re going to see Josh Heupel do whatever he needs to do to win this game. If MacIntyre comes out and is on fire, then maybe we don’t see Brandon at all and the Vols just roll with the hot hand.
But if MacIntyre struggles, or if Tennessee sees that Brandon’s legs are a weapon they need to win this game, then we could certainly see the true freshman (assuming he’s healthy enough) get his first game action since two weeks ago against Auburn.
The report that MacIntyre is going to start against Alabama is probably accurate, but I don’t think it changes anything about the Crimson Tide having to prepare for both of Tennessee’s quarterbacks this week.
