By Mark Nagi
The biggest question entering the 2026 season for the Tennessee Volunteers surrounds the quarterback position… as in, “Who will Tennessee’s quarterback be to start the 2026 season?”
For weeks, Vols fans hoped that the football gods would smile upon them, and Joey Aguilar would be granted one more season of college eligibility. But that wasn’t in the cards.
So that means the gig is up for grabs. It’s going to be a three-horse race between redshirt freshman George MacIntyre, true freshman Faizon Brandon, and redshirt junior Ryan Staub, a Colorado transfer. Spring practice might go a long way towards that decision.
“The biggest thing, and we talked about this before we went into camp, is you can’t play tight trying not to make a mistake,” said Tennessee offensive coordinator and quarterback coach Joey Halzle. “That’s not how a job is won. You have to go cut it loose. You have to play well. You have to play hard and show that you can make plays while taking care of the football.”
If experience in this system is a big determining factor, the early advantage would go to MacIntyre, the Brentwood Academy product. MacIntyre has been with the program since last January, the only one of the trio who has played for the Vols. He saw mop-up duty in two games in 2025, completing 7 of 9 passes for 69 yards.
“He’s (MacIntyre) gotten himself a lot physically stronger this offseason,” said Halzle. You can see it in the way the ball’s coming out of his hand. He’s done a great job with that, something that he needs to keep pushing on… you have to treat yourself like the starter because you never know when that opportunity is coming. And it’s true, but there’s just a different animal when there’s no longer a starter sitting in front of you, and it’s wide open, like everything that I’ve worked for up to this point is now legitimately sitting right in front of my face. So, there’s that different intensity, there’s that different kind of sense of urgency when he’s walking around the building.”
Brandon is the 5-star recruit out of North Carolina, one of the top prospects in the country in the Class of 2026. He went 35-1 as a starter at Grimsley HS in Greensboro, leading his team to two state titles.
Halzle believes Brandon could handle the rigors of SEC football immediately. “The first thing you have to look at is, can the guy (Brandon) physically hold up? You know, a lot of guys get on campus and maybe they’re not quite ready yet physically, which is not uncommon. With him, he is physically ready. He’s a big, strong kid. He could handle what it would take to go play 17 games in this conference.”
Tennessee could have been in a tough position. Aguilar is gone and Jake Merklinger is transferring to UConn. Getting Staub to jump to Knoxville might end up as one of the key moves of the offseason. If nothing else, he gives UT some experience in the QB room. Staub played in each of the Buffaloes’ last three seasons.
“Ryan’s a guy that, if you looked at the plays that he made, he did a really good job at extending plays,” said Halzle. “He does a good job improving. As far as anticipating, that guy throws windows at a really high level… he has a really good feel for the game. He’s a highly intelligent kid, like you can put the offense on him and let him go, you know what I mean, and he’ll be ok in it. He does a great job using his mind, using his quick-twitch ability to get the ball out and get the ball out on timing. He does a good job of that, so he’s a guy that we feel very comfortable with as well.”
Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel and Halzle have another five and a half months to evaluate these guys before the games count.
