Which Tennessee football quarterback starts vs Alabama? What Josh Heupel said

Tennessee football coach Josh Heupel isn’t saying whether George MacIntyre or Faizon Brandon will start at quarterback against Alabama.

“We'll find out here through the week," Heupel said on Oct. 12 at his weekly press conference when asked to name his starting quarterback. "We get on the grass tomorrow (Tuesday), and we'll work towards Saturday."

The 14th-ranked Vols (5-1, 2-1 SEC) play No. 7 Alabama (5-1, 3-1) on Oct. 17 (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC) at Neyland Stadium.

Heupel declined to publicly name his starter for a second straight week. He’s taken that approach ever since MacIntyre replaced an injured and ineffective Brandon midway through a 24-14 win over Auburn on Oct. 3.

MacIntyre, a sophomore and former Brentwood Academy standout, started in a 24-17 win over Arkansas on Oct. 10. He was 18-of-29 passing for 247 yards and one TD. He also committed three turnovers, including two interceptions and a fumble.

After the game, Heupel said that MacIntyre had known throughout the week that he would start against Arkansas. That news was reported by multiple media outlets, but Heupel declined to confirm it until game time.

Brandon did not play against Arkansas. He was a partial participant in pregame warm-ups, throwing only a few passes.

After the game, Heupel said Brandon had been limited in practice due to his right shoulder injury, and he was at the Arkansas game for “emergency use only.”

Brandon, a five-star freshman, started the first five games of the season. He completed 61 of 101 passes for 697 yards, seven TDs and one interception. And he rushed for 130 yards and three TDs.

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: Which Tennessee football quarterback starts vs Alabama? What Josh Heupel said