Tennessee football is in its summer break, but that doesn’t mean there haven’t been rumors swirling around the Vols’ quarterback battle. With spring camp in the rearview mirror and fall camp looming, pundits have begun to give their opinions on who has the lead between Faizon Brandon and George MacIntyre.
While he made sure to emphasize the competition is far from over, former Vols wide receiver and current co-host of the radio show Josh and Swain on 99.1 The Sports Animal, Jason Swain, made his pick. He believes Brandon, the true freshman, has the early advantage.
“Nobody is going to admit that one has the lead over the other, but from my time seeing a quarterback competition, it’s not tied all the time… Somebody has a lead based on the last practice or last season of the offseason,” Swain said. “That was spring, Faizon was better. That doesn’t mean that Faizon is going to be the starter; that just means he has the lead right now.
“George has to have a really good summer to catch back up. It’s possible for him to do that, but that’s what he has to do. But Faizon has the lead right now, and I’m not letting anybody tell me otherwise. I believe my eyes. Folks saw what they saw during the Orange and White Game, too.”
The buzz around Faizon Brandon is growing.@SwainEvent explained last week on @JoshandSwain why he’s viewed Brandon as the leader in Tennessee’s quarterback race since the end of spring practice… with the battle between Brandon and George MacIntyre ongoing. pic.twitter.com/UbvEplEdnB
— Josh Ward (@Josh_Ward) May 18, 2026
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Both MacIntyre and Brandon were very highly recruited prospects out of high school. MacIntyre served as the third-string quarterback this past year behind Joey Aguilar and Jake Merklinger. However, Aguilar ran out of eligibility, and Merklinger transferred to UConn.
Brandon enters as a five-star recruit and the No. 2 overall player in the class, via 247. Josh Heupel has not started a true frshman at quarterback in his Tennessee tenure yet, but did give the keys to a freshman Dillon Gabriel during his time at UCF.
The Vols open the season on Sept. 5 against Furman at home. Then, things get a bit tougher with a road trip to play Georgia Tech the following Saturday.
