Josh Heupel on QB situation entering the spring: ‘Yeah, it is open’
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Josh Heupel held court with reporters on Monday after Tennessee kicked off its spring practice schedule leading up to the Orange and White Spring Game on April 11 at Neyland Stadium.
There was a lot to discuss, with the Volunteers’ messy quarterback situation among the obvious highlights on everybody’s mind. With Joey Aguilar being denied another season of eligibility last month when a Knoxville judge denied him a preliminary injunction, Tennessee’s quarterback situation for 2026 was thrown into uncertainty.
Heupel was asked Monday about the 3 quarterbacks who will be competing to replace Aguilar this fall. There is George MacIntyre, who will led Tennessee’s quarterback drills during Monday’s practice. There is 5-star freshman Faizon Brandon, who followed MacIntyre on Monday. And there is Colorado transfer Ryan Staub, whose turn came 3rd.
With this as the backdrop to the Vols’ first spring practice, Heupel shed some light on how the QB situation appears in Knoxville. He wasn’t shy about declaring that the QB position is, indeed, pretty wide open.
“Yeah, it is open,” Josh Heupel said. “We had that conversation with all of them as we started the winter, when they all arrived here. Had that conversation again as we were wrapping up our winter before we got into spring ball.”
Heupel revealed that the QB battle at Tennessee will be a long process leading into the fall.
“Don’t expect a guy to be named here during the course of spring ball,” Heupel said. “I think it’s important that all the guys in that room learn and grow throughout the course of spring, also have a chance to go back in your summer months, digest it, reinstall and come back a much better player and compete and earn it in front of their teammates as you get into training camp.”
Here is Heupel’s full session with reporters after Monday’s first practice, talking about the QB battle and other issues:
With Tennessee trying to replace Aguilar in 2026, here is what the Kalshi market sees as the top teams in the mix to win the SEC title this fall:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
