“At some point I’m going to have the opportunity to come back here with a returning starter at quarterback.”
That year is not this year.
Tennessee Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel is entering his sixth season in Knoxville, but has only arrived at SEC Media Days with a returning starting quarterback — in 2022, when Hendon Hooker led the Vols in his sixth college season, capitalizing on his experience to deliver one of the greatest seasons ever by a Tennessee quarterback, earning SEC Offensive Player of the Year honors and finishing fifth in Heisman Trophy voting after throwing for 3,135 yards and 27 touchdowns with two interceptions.
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In the three seasons since, Heupel has fielded a new starter each year. Sixth-year senior Joe Milton ensured a smooth transition in 2023 before Nico Iamaleava made an impact as a true freshman, seemingly setting himself up for three productive seasons as the starter on Rocky Top. Instead, a high-profile NIL dispute resulted in Iamaleava’s post-spring departure that landed on Appalachian State transfer Joey Aguilar after two seasons as the starter in Boone.
Aguilar was excellent in 2025, and filed a lawsuit this spring for a preliminary injunction that ultimately failed, forcing redshirt freshman George MacIntyre and freshman Faizon Brandon into the spotlight as the Volunteers prepare for the 2026 season.
In Tampa, Heupel made the expected declaration — the competition during preseason camp will determine the starter.
“I think that guy, like everybody else, has to earn it in front of their peers,” Heupel said.
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The track record of success for Heuepel acclimating new starters to his veer-and-shoot system clearly gives him confidence.
“I know much is going to be made about our quarterback situation as we come in, starting our fifth different quarterback in five years. We’ve done that historically,” the Tennessee head coach said.
“Seven out of the last nine years we’ve had a different starting quarterback and seven out of the last nine years top 10 in the country in scoring. We’re going to have a guy that’s going to be ready to compete at an elite championship level.”
MacIntyre brings a year of experience in Heupel’s system, appearing in 18 snaps over two games last season after arriving in Knoxville as a tall, skinny gunslinger ranked as the No. 151 player nationally and the No. 13 quarterback in the 247Sports Composite rankings. Choosing Tennessee over Alabama and LSU, MacIntyre opted to remain close to home, leaving the Nashville suburbs for Knoxville.
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“George has got a great ceiling and a great future in front of him,” Heuepel said when MacIntyre signed in late 2024. “He is an extremely athletic, young guy, and you see that on the football field, his ability to improvise, extend plays, and make plays outside of the pocket. Got a chance to see him play basketball multiple times. Extremely fluid and natural on the basketball court.”
Although MacIntyre was a quality prospect, Brandon faces higher expectations as the No. 10 overall prospect and the No. 3 quarterback in the 2026 recruiting class. After landing an early pledge from the 6’4, 225-pounder, Brandon helped the Vols land a top-10 class that helped signal the well-deserved belief from the consensus five-star prospect’s peers in his immense upside.
“His ability to throw the ball with power, with accuracy,” Heuepel said of Brandon’s best traits last December. “His ability to have touch on the football when it’s time to do that. He’s got the athleticism to extend and make plays as a scrambler. He’s a scramble-to-throw guy first, but man, when he does tuck it, he’s got the ability to be a weapon and pick up massive yards with his feet.”
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Learning the playbook isn’t necessarily the biggest challenge, as Iamaleava demonstrated as a true freshman — the bigger demands are in operating at the pace it demands, making the right run-pass decisions based on the box count, and being on the same page with the receivers on option routes.
What Brandon does clearly have is the physical talent and the right mentality to quickly step in as a leader.
“This kid’s got moxie,” a source told CBS Sports. “He’s got the ability obviously, but he’s also got that moxie, personality and confidence.”
“Whenever you start a young quarterback, it’s important the other guys around him play at an extremely high level. We have a lot of guys that will put those guys in a good position to go do their jobs. It’s important you tie everything, special teams and defensively, as well.”
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The running game will be the eventual starter’s best friend, led by running back DeSean Bishop, a 5’10, 215-pounder from Knoxville who began his career with the Volunteers as a walk on before earning second-team All-SEC honors last season after rushing for 1,076 yards and 16 touchdowns on 182 carries.
Along the offensive line, starting left tackle Lance Heard departed for Kentucky and an NIL deal reportedly valued at $2 million. But five other returnees have starting experience and the Vols also added right tackle Ory Williams from LSU. The question is whether the Vols can protect the quarterback better in high-profile games, during which sacks contributed to losses last year.
Leading receiver Chris Brazell II is off to the NFL, but the second-leading and third-leading receivers both return — Mike Matthews and Braylon Staley — along with starting tight end Ethan Davis.
What Tennessee doesn’t have is the benefit of extensive time to prepare the starter for the visit from Texas on Sept. 26 following the shortened non-conference slate that features two buy games and a road trip to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech. Heupel understands he may have to compromise his desire for the initial starter to keep the job.
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“When a guy has earned it, you put him in that position where he starts getting consistent reps with the ones. But the strength of any one position can’t be just one guy,” Heupel said. “History will tell you that there are times when you’ll need multiple guys.”
But Heupel also understands the need to give the winner of the preseason camp competition some space to find themselves as a starter.
“The beauty of the game with your quarterback is each one of ’em’s a little bit different,” Heupel said. “They’re the artist. You have to hand them the paintbrush and let them go paint it.”
