Vols insider details scenario that could be in play for Tennessee in 2026 for the first time in years
It's been a while since the Tennessee Vols have had an intense quarterback battle. And that won't be changing this year. Redshirt sophomore Nico Iamaleava will enter the 2025 season as Tennessee's undisputed starting quarterback, just as he did in 2024. In 2026, however, the Vols could have their first truly intense quarterback battle in […]
It's been a while since the Tennessee Vols have had an intense quarterback battle.
And that won't be changing this year.
Redshirt sophomore Nico Iamaleava will enter the 2025 season as Tennessee's undisputed starting quarterback, just as he did in 2024.
In 2026, however, the Vols could have their first truly intense quarterback battle in years.
VolQuest's Austin Price joined 104.5 The Zone's Ramon, Kayla, and Will on Tuesday and he looked ahead to what could be an extremely interesting spring and fall practice for Tennessee in 2026 with Jake Merklinger, George MacIntyre, and Faizon Brandon facing off in what could potentially be a wide-open quarterback battle.
"In theory, right, Nico will play this coming year and then be off to the NFL," said Price. "And then you've got a wide open competition with Jake Merklinger, George MacIntyre, and Faizon Brandon set up for next spring. And Tennessee's not had a full blown quarterback competition in a long, long time it doesn't feel like. And I think the prospects of that are pretty neat. So if you're Merklinger, you'd be on campus for two years, George would be on campus for one year, and then Faizon would have to hit the ground running (as a true freshman). But I think you stack them up and let the best man win. I don't think Tennessee's quarterback room has been super deep the last couple of years, and so it can get back to that point just by continuing to stack good quarterbacks."
Tennessee hasn't really had a full-blown quarterback battle since 2017 between Jarrett Guarantano and Quentin Dormady (which ended up being controversial thanks to then Vols head coach Butch Jones).
Jeremy Pruitt pretty much stuck with Guarantano during his three seasons as Tennessee's head coach (though other quarterbacks saw action during that time). In 2021, Joe Milton beat out Hendon Hooker and Harrison Bailey in Josh Heupel's first year as the program's head coach, but that was never really viewed as a "wide open battle". Heupel inherited Hooker and Bailey when he took the job at Tennessee. He then added Milton to the roster via the transfer portal. The assumption throughout that offseason (which proved to be correct) was that Milton would be named the starter for the 2021 (though it was Hooker, who got his chance early in the 2021 season after Milton suffered an injury, that proved to be the best quarterback on the roster).
There's still a season of football to be played before 2026 gets here. And a lot can change in that time. Maybe Iamaleava decides to return for the 2026 season. Or maybe a Vols quarterback hits the transfer portal. It's impossible to know exactly how Tennessee's roster will look in a year.
But for now, a fun quarterback battle between three extremely talented players looks like it could be on the way for Tennessee in 2026.
