The position group with the most eyes on it this fall camp will be the quarterbacks. Tennessee football is still deciding who will be its starter for the 2026 season, and it’s a battle that will go at least through the second scrimmage of the preseason.
The options for the starting role are redshirt-freshman George MacIntyre, true freshman Faizon Brandon and Colorado transfer Ryan Staub. The early favorite to win the job was MacIntyre due to his year in the system, but Brandon performed well enough during spring camp to not just enter the conversation, but possibly grab the upper hand.
Brandon joins the team as a five-star prospect who spent a good bit of his recruitment as the No. 1-ranked player regardless of position in the class. He finished on 247 as the No. 3 recruit and No. 3 quarterback. He is from Greensboro, North Carolina, where he starred for Grimsley.
MacIntyre was a highly rated recruit himself out of high school. 247 slotted him as a four-star and the No. 17 signal caller in the cycle. As a freshman, he was the third-string option behind Joey Aguilar and Jake Merklinger. He completed 7-of-9 pass attempts for 69 yards.
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Staub was a late transfer portal addition who is getting a look during the preseason, as well. While Brandon and MacIntyre are the favorites, Staub is the only one in the room with college football starting experience. Last year at Colorado, mostly off the bench, he threw for 427 yards, three touchdowns and four picks.
“The biggest thing, and we talked about this before we went into camp, is you can’t play tight trying not to make a mistake,” Vols offensive coordinator Joey Halzle said in the spring. “That’s not how a job is won. You got to go cut it loose. You got to play well. You got to play hard. Show that you can make plays while taking care of the football. That’s the biggest thing. I think a lot of times guys either go one way too hard. They try to make every play and they maybe give some stuff away. And then they try to play too tight to not make a mistake, to not lose the job, and that’s not what we want to see either.”
There is another quarterback in the room, as well, though he’s not necessarily factoring into the battle for the starting job. Mason Phillips, who just got placed on scholarship, is entering his redshirt-freshman year to round out the room. He completed 1-of-2 passes for 18 yards last year.
