Tennessee football freshman quarterback George MacIntyre watched the majority of the Vols’ 2025 season from the sideline. As the third-string signal caller, he wasn’t even the next man up. That was redshirt-freshman Jake Merklinger, who filled in for the occasional relief of starter Joey Aguilar.
However, now that Merklinger is off to the transfer portal, MacIntyre has been elevated to the backup quarterback role. That means at any moment, he could be inserted as the primary option if something happens to Aguilar in the upcoming Music City Bowl clash with Illinois.
Aguilar has been able to watch MacIntyre since he got to campus in the spring. In that time, he’s seen him grow into the player that he has no doubt would be ready for a big moment.
“I think he’s prepared,” Aguilar said on Friday. “He came a lot from when he first got here, obviously before I got here. And then when I got here to now, he’s grown a lot, got the playbook down and he’s ready. He is here for a reason. Super talented, super smart. He is a leader, so when he gets a chance, he will go out there and take advantage of it for sure.”
More From RTI: How Josh Heupel Said Tennessee Will Replace CB Colton Hood in the Music City Bowl
Where exactly has MacIntyre improved to the point that Aguilar thinks he’d be ready for an increased role, though?
Aguilar went down the list and named plenty of things that have stood out to him about the young quarterback throughout the season. That included him saying he thinks MacIntyre is a good bit stronger than people give him credit for.
“I would say all over the place,” Aguilar said on where MacIntyre has improved. “In the film room, getting the timing down with the receivers, being vocal and controlling the offense, film studies, asking good questions, learning defenses and just getting the scheme of what we got going on down to a tee. Obviously, there’s some stuff we can still work on all together, but when I got here up tonight, he’s grown a lot in those aspects and obviously getting his weight up. People are talking about his weight, but he’s getting up there, he’s pretty strong. People don’t think he’s strong, but he’s actually really strong. But he’s prepared and when he gets the shot, he’ll take advantage of it for sure.”
At the moment, Aguilar is out of eligibility following the Music City Bowl. Unless he wins eligibility in a court case, that’d mean the Vols are looking for a new starter next season. MacIntyre is naturally on the shortlist of candidates as the lone returner in the position group.
In 2026, it’ll be a room filled with MacIntyre, true freshman Faizon Brandon and redshirt freshman and depth piece Mason Phillips. Out of those options, it’d be a quarterback battle between MacIntyre and Brandon. However, a popular third option would be hitting the transfer portal to add an experienced quarterback to give that young duo one more year to develop.
