The current expectation is that Tennessee football will be in the market for a transfer portal quarterback this offseason. If the Vols go that route, they’ll also likely be looking to add one of the top names in the portal. That would include the likes of Arizona State’s Sam Leavitt, Cincinnati’s Brenden Sorsby, TCU’s Josh Hoover, Iowa State’s Rocco Becht and more.
However, a recent prediction for where the top portal quarterbacks will land didn’t have the Vols earning the commitment of any of the top signal callers. Instead, AtoZ’s Ryan Roberts had Leavitt going to LSU, Sorsby to Texas Tech, Hoover to Indiana and Becht to Penn State.
That would leave Tennessee in a tricky spot. The Vols will have two scholarship quarterbacks on their roster next season, both of whom are extremely talented but also inexperienced. That’s rising redshirt freshman George MacIntyre and incoming true freshman five-star Faizon Brandon.
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The magic number for quarterbacks on a roster seems to be three, though. That’s where an ideal roster sits, and what Heupel has had throughout his tenure in Knoxville.
“Yeah, I mean, there’s been years where you’ve had that happen, where you’ve had to play a third,” Heupel said. “So don’t want to do that, but it’s happened before.”
If UT doesn’t land a transfer or misses on the big names and lands more of a depth option, if that’s even possible, it could be a battle between MacIntyre and Brandon for the starting job. Both were very highly recruited, but MacIntyre would have the upper hand of having a year under his belt in the system.
With Jake Merklinger headed to the transfer portal, MacIntyre is already the second-string option for the Music City Bowl, as well. Current Tennessee starter Joey Aguilar thinks MacIntyre will handle whatever opportunity comes his way well.
“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.”
The transfer portal will officially open on Jan. 2, 2026. Players have announced their intention to enter, but aren’t allowed to officially go in until that date. The only exception is if their head coach at their previous stop was fired or left for another job.
