How and when Josh Heupel plans to pick Tennessee football starting QB

Coach Josh Heupel had to assure his Tennessee quarterbacks twice that they were in an open competition for the starting job, and well before spring practice started.

It was needed in both instances during an eventful offseason.

UT failed to get a premier starting quarterback in the transfer portal. Cincinnati transfer Brendan Sorsby chose Texas Tech without visiting the Vols. Arizona State transfer Sam Leavitt visited UT but chose LSU. UT appeared to pass on Missouri’s Beau Pribula, who transferred to Virginia. And then UT added Colorado transfer Ryan Staub on Jan. 18.

That’s when Heupel said he told redshirt freshman George MacIntyre, five-star freshman Faizon Brandon and Staub that they were in an open competition for the starting job.

Then Joey Aguilar, the 2025 starter, tried to regain a year of eligibility in the courts by suing the NCAA. But that failed when Aguilar's request for an injunction against NCAA eligibility rules was denied on Feb. 20.

So once again, Heupel told his trio of quarterbacks that the starting job was up for grabs. This time it was for good.

“(The competition) is open. We had that conversation with all of them as we started the winter, when they all arrived here. (And we) had that conversation again as we were wrapping up our winter before we got into spring ball,” Heupel said after UT’s first practice of spring on March 16.

Now that UT has exhausted its other options, it will sink or swim with these three quarterbacks. There is no spring transfer portal this year, so another player won’t enter the mix.

When Josh Heupel expects to name a starting QB

Heupel said he doesn’t expect to name a starting quarterback in spring practice. He’s got plenty of time before the 2026 season opener against Furman on Sept. 5.

“(The starting quarterback must be) playing extremely efficiently. That guy has got to play on edge,” Heupel said. “He’s got to go make plays. But he’s also got to take care of the football.”

The pecking order may become evident during the 15 practices of spring. On day one, MacIntyre was first in line in the quarterback drills during periods open to the media. He was followed by Brandon, Staub and walk-on Mason Phillips.

Don’t read too much into that order. It could change throughout spring practice as they wage a competition for the starting job. But it’s a predictable starting point, and it highlights the path that each quarterback must take to win the job.

What Heupel expects from George MacIntyre, Faizon Brandon

MacIntyre should have a grasp of the offense because he spent the last year practicing in it. That “time on task,” as Heupel calls it, should give MacIntyre a headstart. If MacIntyre demonstrates that familiarity, he’ll take the lead. If he doesn’t, he could be vulnerable to challengers.

Heupel said he expects Brandon to go through typical struggles for a freshman and then gradually get comfortable.

“The first five days, man, is really hard. The game is moving really fast. It’s the first time you’ve played against (comparable) talent on the other side of the football,” Heupel said. “The second five days, it gets a little bit better. It starts slowing down. When you get to the third five days, he’s typically a much different football player than where he started.

“If it’s not trending that way, then that’s an area of concern of how quickly he can he continue to progress by the time we get to (preseason) training camp.”

That sounds like Brandon likely can’t win the job in spring. But his growing pains could eliminate him if he doesn’t show gradual progress by the spring game on April 11. His elite talent suggests that he’s up for the task.

Where is Colorado transfer Ryan Staub in three-man race?

Staub is a wild card, a dark horse.

Even at face value, he’s not the like the other two. MacIntyre is a slender 6-foot-6, 201 pounds. Brandon has a college-type body at 6-4, 215 pounds. Staub is a compact 6-1, 200 pounds.

Staub is the only quarterback with notable game experience. He appeared in 12 games with two starts at Colorado, passing for 681 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions. MacIntyre played only 18 snaps as a freshman in 2026, and Brandon was in high school last season.

But Staub struggled in his short stint as a starter at Colorado, so it appears his best chance at UT’s QB1 job is if the other two fail to win it. His ceiling may be the backup job if he can learn the offense.

Heupel won't take it easy on QBs despite their inexperience

If Heupel chooses MacIntyre or Brandon, he will start the least experienced starting quarterback of his UT tenure. Hendon Hooker (2021-22), Joe Milton (2021, 2023), Nico Iamaleava (2024) and Aguilar (2025) had more playing time, albeit at varying degrees, before they got the starting job.

Aguilar played 2,705 snaps in three Division I seasons, and that’s not counting his years in junior college. Staub, MacIntyre and Brandon have 231 snaps of college football combined.

Obviously, Heupel values experience. That’s why he tried to land Leavitt, and that’s why he waited on the result of Aguilar’s eligibility case before settling on this trio.

Heupel said he’ll be patient with these inexperienced quarterbacks in spring, but he won’t be easy on them. The stakes are too high for that.

“You have to push them in what they’re doing on the offensive side of the football,” Heupel said. “You have to force feed those guys (the playbook) and expose them to what you’re going to need during the course of the fall.”

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing atknoxnews.com/subscribe.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Josh Heupel plan for George MacIntyre, Faizon Brandon, Tennessee starting QB