Tennessee football coach Josh Heupel left open the possibility that he could wait until game week to name his starting quarterback, but he’s not tipping his hand.
It appears five-star freshman Faizon Brandon leads the competition with sophomore George MacIntyre after the final intrasquad scrimmage of preseason practice on Aug. 22, which was closed to media and the public.
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Brandon connected on a deep pass to Mike Matthews and broke a few long runs. But he also tossed an interception and missed some short high-percentage passes.
The scrimmage continued to showcase Brandon’s big-play potential as a runner and passer, as well as predictable freshman mistakes.
MacIntyre managed the offense reasonably well. But he tossed an interception that was returned for a touchdown, and he overthrew a deep pass.
“You evaluate where they’re at (and) who has earned it,” Heupel said about his upcoming decision on a starting quarterback. “And (you consider) what you think is best holistically for that position group in the buildup (to the season) and in the football team.”
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The 18th-ranked Vols play Furman on Sept. 5 (3:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network+/ESPN+) at Neyland Stadium to start the 2026 season. If the game produces a lopsided score, it’s likely that both quarterbacks would play, which is another element that Heupel must consider.
Why Josh Heupel would name starting QB sooner than later
Heupel said there could be minor benefits to naming a starter in the next few days as UT transitions from training camp to game preparation. One quarterback would take first-team reps, which could be important because the offense had numerous pre-snap penalties in the scrimmage.
But Heupel didn’t sound tied to that timeline after the scrimmage.
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“I don’t know if there’s any advantage necessarily (to naming a starter soon). Time on task, timing with the wide receivers, tight ends, that type of thing can be an advantage,” Heupel said. “(Brandon and MacIntyre) have both gotten a bunch of work with that first (team offense). I think it’s different every single year. At the end of the day, you look at where they’re at, where we’re at and what’s best for the football team.”
Heupel has used different timelines in naming his starting quarterback.
A year ago, he announced Joey Aguilar as the starter over Jake Merklinger and MacIntyre on the day after the final scrimmage. If Heupel follows that timeline, he could name the starter Aug. 23 or Aug. 24, when his next press conference is scheduled.
Heupel also could wait until game week. That’s what he did in 2021 when he announced Joe Milton as the starter over Hendon Hooker. Of course, that competition flipped early in that season when Hooker supplanted Milton and never relinquished the starting job.
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Why Faizon Brandon’s big plays fit Tennessee plan on offense
Heupel and offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Joey Halzle must consider a lot of factors in naming a starter, and most are in Brandon’s favor.
Brandon is a better runner, both in scrambling situations on pass plays and designed quarterback runs. Defensive players aren’t allowed to make contact with quarterbacks in scrimmages, but Heupel said he could see how effective the quarterbacks were as runners.
“You can see their ability to manipulate and work in the pocket. You can see their ball security in the pocket (and) out of the pocket. (On) extended plays, you get a chance to see their decision-making down the field,” Heupel said. “If it’s not open, (you see) their ability to tuck it and gain positive yards and put you in the right situation.
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“So it’s not realistic in gameday as far as the tackle being made, but you can see all those other things before you get to gameday.”
Brandon has also been a more consistent deep ball passer. He connected on downfield passes to Matthews in both scrimmages. But both quarterbacks have shown accuracy on deep passes in practice periods open to the media.
The deep passing game returned to UT’s offense last season with Aguilar. The Vols led the SEC with nine pass plays of 50 yards or more. And they increased their pass plays of 30 yards or more from 15 plays in 2024 to 24 plays in 2025.
Those deep passes helped UT lead the SEC in scoring at 39.8 points per game. Heupel knows he needs a quarterback that can connect on those downfield passes.
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“Over the course of the two scrimmages, (deep passing) has been really positive. During the course of practice, it’s been extremely positive,” Heupel said. “Today, we were able to hit a couple of them. All parts of it have got to be tied together – the route, the coverage and then the protection.”
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 at knoxnews.com/subscribe.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: What Josh Heupel is mulling before naming Tennessee football starting QB
