George Quarles Offers Unique Perspective of Tennessee vs. Furman

This Saturday, Sept. 5, Tennessee will kick off its 2026 season against the Furman Paladins at Neyland Stadium. And no one in Knoxville has a more unique take on this game than George Quarles. Before returning to the prep level in East Tennessee, the first-year Webb School of Knoxville coach enjoyed nine years coaching college football. Five of them were spent at Furman, his alma mater, under head coach Clay Hendrix.

In December 2016, Quarles departed his longtime post at Maryville High School, where he led the Rebels to 11 state titles, to become the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Paladins in Greenville, South Carolina.

George Quarles Shares His Unique Mindset

“The head coach and I, we were roommates at Furman,” Quarles said. “When I was a graduate assistant, we lived together and our wives are good friends. So we stayed close. When I left for Furman, he had just gotten the job and asked if I had an interest. At that point, I was at a different place — I don’t know if I was ready for a new challenge or ready to try something else.”

Whatever the reasoning, Quarles helped Furman find its footing en route to a Southern Conference title in 2018.

“Great place, great people, and we had some success,” Quarles said. “It was an opportunity to make a change and see if you could get it done at that level, or try to anyway.”

He continued that path as East Tennessee State’s head coach before venturing on to Austin Peay as a tight ends coach. But now, Quarles is glad to be back among friends in this version of the sport he loves most: high school football.

Unlike the grind of a collegiate game day, the new gig comes with the benefit of enjoying the full cornucopia of kickoffs this weekend.

“That’s the fun part of Saturdays, that you don’t get to do as a college coach,” Quarles said. “One of the best parts of being a college football fan is being able to sit down and watch the games. If I want to go to a game, I can. If I want to stay home and watch games, I can. There is nothing like high school football on Friday night and watching college on Saturdays.”

Even so, Quarles said he plans to make the trip to the Furman hotel Saturday morning anyway. Whether he goes to the game remains to be seen.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I’m going to go see the guys that morning, but the idea of fighting the crowd is not real exciting to me. I’ll probably go see them and hang out with them before the hotel. My wife says we’re going to the game too, but we will see.”

Whether he attends or not, Quarles is excited to see how the Paladins stack up against a Tennessee team that will debut a fresh starter in Faizon Brandon.

“Being in those games before, I’m not saying Furman doesn’t have a chance, but it’s a tough row to hoe,” he said. “You like to see where those guys match up with the best in the country. You play those games and they’re fun because it’s a little different atmosphere, and these guys will be pumped up to be in Neyland Stadium. You hope they get out of that game relatively healthy.

“Then for Tennessee, everybody is wanting to see where the quarterback is, right? It’s such a quarterback game, and you want to see if that’s your guy. Because you can do all the practice you want, but until you get in the game, you just don’t know.”

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