New report confirms one suspicion about the Tennessee Vols' quarterback battle
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The Tennessee Vols have an open quarterback competition this offseason.
Tennessee explored a couple of quarterback options over the winter. The Vols tried to land Arizona State transfer quarterback Sam Leavitt, but he ended up at LSU after Tennessee declined to get into an NIL bidding war.
UT also tried to get Joey Aguilar, the Vols' starting quarterback last season, another year of eligibility. But Aguilar's injunction was denied.
The Vols landed Colorado Buffaloes transfer Ryan Staub as a transfer addition in January. Staub, who started two games at Colorado, joined a quarterback room that also includes redshirt freshman George MacIntyre and true freshman Faizon Brandon.
New report details where Tennessee's quarterback battle currently stands
Vols head coach Josh Heupel made it clear at the start of spring practice that Tennessee's quarterback competition is "very open" with MacIntyre, Brandon, and Staub all in the battle.
Heupel has also made it a point to mention Staub when asked about the quarterback competition this spring.
Most folks, though, view this competition as a battle between MacIntyre and Brandon. And a new report from On3's Pete Nakos seemingly confirms that Staub is not a real contender in this battle.
"With Joey Aguilar’s preliminary injunction against the NCAA being denied, Josh Heupel is left with an open competition between redshirt freshman George MacIntyre, five-star freshman early enrollee Faizon Brandon and Colorado transfer Ryan Staub," wrote Nakos. "Sources have indicated that the quarterback competition at this point is between MacIntyre and Brandon. Staub was brought in this offseason after the Volunteers did not land a prominent transfer quarterback."
That's certainly not a surprise, as MacIntyre and Brandon have far more upside. Heupel, however, values experience, and that's one area where Staub has a slight advantage. But it doesn't sound like he's going to be a real threat to win this job (though that could always change depending on how the summer goes, and whether everyone stays healthy).
It's still very early in this competition, but MacIntyre is viewed by most as the favorite to win the job due to his one year of experience in Heupel's system.
But Brandon can't be counted out. The former five-star recruit, in fact, reportedly looked impressive at Tennessee's first spring scrimmage last week.
“I think yesterday, I don’t think George probably played to the level he expected,” said VolQuest's Brent Hubbs on 104.5 The Zone’s Ramon and Will. “I think he’s got to be better and be more efficient with the ball. I don’t think the receivers overall played particularly well. I think Faizon probably, for a first scrimmage, maybe exceeded some early thoughts and expectations. But here’s what I say to all that — because somebody’s going to hear that, and they’re going to go, ‘Oh Faizon Brandon’s ahead, he’s taken the lead.’ And it’s like, no, that’s not where this is. That’s not what this is about.
“Remember, we did this show (Ramon and Will) last August after George MacIntyre’s first scrimmage, and it was all the talk about how George MacIntyre was deep in this race — he was legitimately in this race. After the second scrimmage, there was no race — Joey Aguilar had won it. So, it’s just one scrimmage. It’s seven days into spring. The question now is, how do these two quarterbacks respond from this first scrimmage to the second scrimmage? In a lot of ways, the competition didn’t get real until yesterday. No offense to the first six days of spring practice, because those (days) are important, but the quarterback judgment comes out of scrimmages more than it does anything else on the practice field. And yesterday was the first one, and you kind of dropped the gauntlet as the baseline for where you’re going with this competition.”
Tennessee's next spring scrimmage is scheduled for April 2.
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This story was originally published by A to Z Sports on Mar 30, 2026, where it first appeared in the Nashville section. Add A to Z Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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