Tennessee football is immersed in a three-way quarterback battle that is beginning during spring camp. The competition is between redshirt-freshman George MacIntyre, true freshman Faizon Brandon and Colorado transfer Ryan Staub.
With two spring practices completed, Staub met with the media for the first time. He was asked about the teammates he’s competing with, the two highly-ranked young gun slingers.
“George is a great leader,” Staub said. “George has all the intangibles. He’s tall, he’s got a strong arm, he’s very accurate, he’s decisive, quick. Great guy to learn from. He’s competitive. He’s a great addition to the room.”
“Faizon, I mean wow, kind of a freak of nature. Walks in at 6-3, 215 as a true freshman, that’s impressive. He’s got raw ability, raw arm strength and he’s smart. He’s learning this offense and it’s not easy. I’ve learned a lot of offenses in my time and it’s not easy.”
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Head coach Josh Heupel has been adamant that it’s not a two-man race, though. The job is open, and Staub will get a fair look throughout the spring and into fall camp.
Offensive coordinator Joey Halzle raved about what he’ll bring to the table for the quarterback room this season.
“Ryan’s a guy that if you looked at the plays that he made, he did a really good job extending plays,” Halzle said. “He does a good job improvving. We talked about with Faizon and George as far as anticipating. That guy can throw windows at a really high level. He shops windows. He feels timing. He understands all that. So he has really good feel for the game.
“He’s a highly intelligent kid. Like you can put the offense on him and let him go. You know what I mean? And, he’ll be okay in it. And he does a great job using his mind, using his quick-twitch ability to get the ball out and get the ball out on timing. He does a good job of that, so he’s a guy that we feel very comfortable with as well.”
Tennessee will be off on Wednesday, but is back in action for spring practice No. 3 on Thursday.
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