‘Probably some disappointment there’ – Latest Joey Aguilar news isn’t good for George MacIntyre at Tennessee

Tennessee Vols quarterback George MacIntyre may not get a chance to compete for the starting job after all.

Zach Ragan — Tennessee Volunteers News Writer
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The general feeling over the last few weeks has been that rising redshirt freshman quarterback George MacIntyre is the favorite to start for the Tennessee Vols in 2026.

That feeling changed this week due to some movement in quarterback Joey Aguilar’s fight for another season of eligibility.

Aguilar was granted a temporary restraining order against the NCAA’s junior college rules on Wednesday.

A hearing is expected to be set for Feb. 13 to determine if Aguilar will receive an injunction, which would allow him to play for the Vols in 2026.

There wasn’t much optimism heading into the offseason that Aguilar would receive an additional season of eligibility. But now it’s seems likely that Aguilar will win his case (though nothing is certain).

George MacIntyre may have to wait another year to start

If Aguilar is granted another season of eligibility, the expectation is that he would serve as Tennessee’s starting quarterback in 2026.

And that means that MacIntyre, barring injury, would have to wait another season for a chance to start.

“I think there’s probably some disappointment there if Joey gets another year,” said VolQuest’s Austin Price Wednesday on WNML’s Josh and Swain. “George obviously wanted the chance to compete. He wanted the chance to have the opportunity to win the job. Let’s call it what it is — if Joey Aguilar is back, Joey Aguilar is the starting quarterback in 2026. And there’s no putting lipstick on the pig for either one of those young kids (MacIntyre and Faizon Brandon) that, ‘Hey, you’re going to have a chance.’ They know that this is going to be Joey’s team, Joey’s ship, and he’ll be the captain, and we’ll go from there.”

It’s certainly understandable if MacIntyre is disappointed, but sitting another year, if that’s how it plays out (sports are unpredictable), isn’t a bad thing for the young quarterback. In fact, it would probably be a good thing for his development. But I understand his desire to compete, too. And who knows, maybe he’s the best option on the team. We’ll see how he performs this spring (Aguilar will likely be limited or miss all of spring practice after undergoing surgery earlier this offseason).

MacIntyre just needs to keep his focus on competing a day at a time. He can’t worry about things out of his control. If he does, then he’ll only be hurting himself — it’s tough to perform at a high level in the SEC if you’re not focused on the day-to-day process.

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