ESPN analyst reveals order of Tennessee QB reps during spring practice
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ESPN’s Greg McElroy gave an update on Tennessee‘s quarterback competition this week.
With Joey Aguilar unsuccessful in his efforts to be ruled eligible in 2026, the Vols are set to have a QB competition featuring 3 inexperienced options this offseason: George MacIntrye, Ryan Staub and Faizon Brandon.
According to McElroy, MacIntrye has been taking reps first in practice, followed by Brandon and then Staub. He also emphasized how much Tennessee’s coaching staff liked MacIntrye in 2025 while Aguilar served as the team’s starting quarterback.
“They loved him last year, by the way,” McElroy said. “They liked him last year. That’s an encouraging spot to be in. That’s good language to hear when describing a young player. But you’ve also got to acknowledge that Faizon Brandon, he’s kind of the wildcard that could change everything in this competition.”
Here’s a video breakdown of McElroy’s analysis:
MacIntrye stands at 6-foot-6 and will be entering his second season with the program. He was a 4-star prospect out of high school with the Vols back in the class of 2025.
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Brandon was a more highly-touted recruit, coming in as a 5-star prospect and the No. 3 overall quarterback in the country for his class, per 247Sports Composite rankings. However, he’s going through his first spring in Josh Heupel‘s system and may take more time before challenging for the starting job.
Staub is a veteran transfer from Colorado who is the most experienced of the bunch, but is more of a long-shot to win the starting job out of fall camp. Staub has a career completion percentage of 53.5% and averaged 6.9 yards per attempt over 99 passes during his Colorado career.
Tennessee will hold its annual spring game on April 11.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
