Fall camp is just around the corner, which means the Tennessee Vols’ starting quarterback battle is about to get really real.

Redshirt freshman George MacIntyre and true freshman Faizon Brandon are battling for the starting job.

Entering the summer months, the feeling was that Brandon had inched ahead in the battle after MacIntyre reportedly experienced an inconsistent spring.

No decision, however, is expected to be made until after Tennessee’s second fall scrimmage, which leaves both quarterbacks with plenty of time to make their case.

On3 predicts who Tennessee’s starting quarterback will be

On3’s Pete Nakos predicted on Tuesday who each SEC team’s starting quarterback will be in 2026.

Nakos predicts that it’ll be Brandon for the Volunteers.

“Entering the spring, it appeared George MacIntyre was the clear quarterback to beat to earn the starting job,” wrote Nakos. “But true freshman Faizon Brandon came on strong, pushing MacIntyre and looking better at times. Sources through the spring and now into the summer continue to tell On3 that Brandon has positioned himself to truly compete for the job and potentially start Week 1. MacIntyre had an up-and-down spring and clearly did not outright win the job. The amount of talent and potential Brandon has will be hard to tamp down. The Volunteers open with Furman before playing at Georgia Tech, giving them a week to play both quarterbacks if necessary. Starting QB Projection: Faizon Brandon”

The interesting part about Nakos’ analysis isn’t his prediction, but the last line: “The Volunteers open with Furman before playing at Georgia Tech, giving them a week to play both quarterbacks if necessary.”

This is Tennessee’s first wide-open quarterback competition since 2021, which was Heupel’s first season in Knoxville.

The Vols went with Joe Milton in 2021 to start the year because he was far better in fall camp than Hendon Hooker.

It was Hooker, though, who proved to be the better option.

“I’ve said that for years [that] Joe was a great practice player,” explained former Vols offensive lineman Ollie Lane last summer. “And that’s no knock on his game at all. But Joe was great in practice. Looked amazing in practice. Hendon was not the best practice player. That’s when he would sometimes make mistakes that were stupid mistakes in practice.

“That competition, it was a weird competition because Joe really did win that competition in practice – because he was the better quarterback in practice. But then when you get in those game situations, practice isn’t always like the game, and so Hendon was just a true gamer. He knew how to step up to that stage and get it done. And that’s not to say Joe didn’t, but Joe could obviously put that on display better in practice. And so that made it seem like he was the easy option (to be named the starter).”

Regardless of who emerges as the best option in fall camp, Heupel may be wise to wait until after the Furman game to officially name his starter. Sometimes guys just play different when the lights come on.