Tennessee’s quarterback situation in 2026 with true freshman Faizon Brandon and redshirt freshman George MacIntyre is a lot like the situation the Vols had with Joe Milton and Hendon Hooker in 2021 and 2022.

Both quarterback competitions lasted the duration of fall camp, and both competitions featured quarterbacks that were virtually unknowns in Josh Heupel’s system (MacIntyre had nine pass attempts last season in garbage time).

The one big difference, though, is in the relationship between the quarterbacks.

Milton and Hooker were (and still are) extremely close. The two famously lived together during their time at Tennessee, and often spoke of their close bond.

“I can say blood wouldn’t make us closer, both of our parents talk to each other, I don’t think blood can make us closer,” said Milton in 2022 after Hooker suffered a torn ACL in Tennessee’s loss to South Carolina.

That’s not the situation between Brandon and MacIntyre.

It’s all about competition between George MacIntyre and Faizon Brandon

To be clear, I don’t think there’s any tension between Brandon and MacIntyre. I think they both handle themselves like pros, and they both put the team first.

But they aren’t besties like Joe and Hendon.

I previously wrote about how it seemed like Brandon and MacIntyre weren’t exactly chummy.

“It’s definitely very competitive between us two,” said Brandon earlier this month when asked about his relationship with MacIntyre. “There’s some things he can learn from me and I can learn from him. I take stuff from him and Ryan (Staub) all the time to apply it to my game because they do some great stuff, too. We talk in the facility. We have a pretty good relationship, but it’s competing at the end of the day. It’s nothing bad between us, though.”

“I think you definitely have to find a balance between it,” said MacIntyre when asked about balancing supporting teammates while knowing he’s trying to win the job. “I think we all know in the quarterback room what the vibe is and we’re going to support whoever’s out there on the field at that given time. I think we do a good job of supporting each other and supporting ourselves when we’re in.”

A comment from Brandon this week after being named the starter further confirms the nature of their relationship.

Brandon was asked if he and MacIntyre have talked about the outcome of the quarterback competition.

“No, we haven’t said anything to each other about that,” said Brandon. “We’ve really just kept competing. We’re still in practice, still competing, so nothing has really changed.”

I don’t think this is a bad thing, by the way. I think healthy competition is always a good thing. I like that these two guys badly want to outcompete the other, and are more worried about that than trying to be best friends.

And that’s not to demean Joe and Hendon — I thought their relationship was awesome. It was a good thing for Tennessee at the time.

But with these two young quarterbacks in Faizon and George, I say the more competitive the better.