At the beginning of August, Tennessee football will return for fall camp and hold the final critical stretch of its quarterback battle. True freshman Faizon Brandon, redshirt-freshman George MacIntyre and Colorado transfer Ryan Staub will square off in an attempt to claim the role of starter.
Ahead of teams returning for camp, On3 insider Pete Nakos made his prediction for each starting quarterback role across the SEC. For the Vols, he tabbed the freshman, Brandon, as UT’s starter in 2026.
Other notable quarterback battles in the SEC he predicted include Keelon Russell winning at Alabama and Blaze Berlowitz beating five-star freshman Jared Curtis at Vanderbilt.
Projecting every SEC starting QB ahead of the 2026 season🎯
(via @PeteNakos) https://t.co/nUtJKD8kan pic.twitter.com/0cq1puOilE
— On3 (@On3) July 14, 2026
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Brandon joined Tennessee as an early enrollee this spring. While MacIntyre was the popular pick heading into spring camp, a lot of predictions switched to Brandon following an impressive first impression. With the challenge of learning the Vols’ offense and pairing it with his physical traits, he looked ahead of schedule.
“I would say learning the offense hasn’t been hard with the tools they gave us,” Brandon said. “You can study on your own, have our own iPad and stuff to look over everything. So I would say with that it makes it easy. So if you just do your part, studying by yourself and stuff, then it makes it easier to learn the offense.”
Brandon is from Greensboro, North Carolina, where he played for Grimsley. He was ranked as a five-star prospect and the No. 3 overall recruit in the country by 247. This slotted him as the No. 3 quarterback and top player from North Carolina.
