Tennessee football is entrenched in a quarterback battle for its starting job in the 2026 season. It’s a three-man race for the gig between redshirt-freshman George MacIntyre, true freshman Faizon Brandon and Colorado transfer Ryan Staub.
Heading into the spring, the expectation was that MacIntyre had a leg up due to his year of experience in the program. However, the momentum has started to shift toward the five-star true freshman, Brandon. Multiple reports have come out that he may not just be threatening MacIntyre, but could win the job outright.
On Tuesday, another report was released indicating as such. While nobody is claiming that the job is locked up, CBS’s Matt Zenitz and Chris Hummer filed a story that details why Brandon has put himself in a position to win the battle during fall camp.
For the full article on Brandon and Tennessee’s quarterback battle from CBS, click here.
It’s become increasingly clear the last couple months that five-star freshman Faizon Brandon has a real chance to end up winning Tennessee’s starting QB job.
AdvertisementOn why he has momentum heading into the summer: https://t.co/e397Pl42BM https://t.co/gTbxVRr7Pj pic.twitter.com/RdYweCwTuW
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) June 2, 2026
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In the article, Zenitz and Hummer note that sources told CBS that ‘it’s continued to look increasingly likely these last couple of months that Brandon could end up being a Day 1 starter for the Vols’.
Why is that the case, though? Another source told CBS that MacIntyre has operated better during the spring, but Brandon’s physical traits and talents are tough to deny.
If Brandon does win the job, it’d be a first under Josh Heupel at Tennessee. Heupel has gone as young as redshirt-freshman Nico Iamaleava to lead his offense, but never a true freshman for an entire season. The only prior start from a first-year signal caller was Iamaleava in the Citrus Bowl win over Iowa in 2023.
However, it wouldn’t be a first for Heupel in his coaching career. He wasn’t shy to give Dillon Gabriel the keys to his offense at UCF, and Gabriel ended up having a productive season en route to a fantastic college career across multiple stops.
The battle in Knoxville is far from over, though. Heupel has said he wants to see how his quarterbacks respond to the spring slate of practices and apply it to the fall. Camp begins in early August ahead of the season-opener against Furman on Sept. 5, 2026.
