The Tennessee Vols’ starting quarterback competition between redshirt freshman George MacIntyre and true freshman Faizon Brandon is about to heat up as fall camp is set to get underway in a couple of weeks.

Brandon has been viewed as the “leader” for much of the summer, but there isn’t necessarily a true leader entering fall camp.

What happened in the spring won’t really have an impact on who wins the starting job in fall camp. It’s essentially all even as the sprint torward the season gets underway in early August.

Vols insider reveals what will determine who wins Tennessee’s starting QB job

Speculation about who will start for the Volunteers this fall isn’t going to end anytime soon.

But there won’t be answer until later in August, so the speculation is all for naught.

VolQuest’s Brent Hubbs joined 104.5 The Zone’s Ramon and Will on Friday and he explained what will determine who wins the job.

“The bottom line is: who moves this offense the best?” said Hubbs. “And this offense doesn’t move with 16-play, 70-yard drives. This offense moves with vertical passing — big plays and splash plays. Guys who are willing to rip it in there, as (offensive coordinator) Joey Halzle likes to say. Who’s going to go do that? Who’s going to thread that needle of being responsible and taking care of the ball, but also pushing the ball vertically down the field? Making the big plays that Tennessee looks for. And that’s not just throwing it over somebody’s head. That’s squeezing a crossing route in traffic and those types of things. The person who does that the best in the two scrimmages in August is going to be your starting quarterback, regardless of what all the speculation is right now.”

None of the talk this summer about Brandon being ahead, or that MacIntyre was up and down in the spring, is going to impact who wins this battle. It’s all going to come down to which player performs the best in Tennessee’s two fall scrimmages.

Man, talk about pressure — these two young quarterbacks have to be feeling it heading into fall camp.

And whichever quarterback handles it the best — meaning they go out and play free and easy with confidence — is almost certainly going to be the quarterback who starts against Furman in Week 1.