Tennessee Football Announces Their 2026 Starting Quarterback

The Tennessee Volunteers have been progressing towards their season opener against the Furman Paladins, who are set to travel to play against the Vols in Knoxville, Tennessee, on Sep 5. This is a game that many have been watching closely, not due to the talent level on the field for the team playing against the Vols, but because of the major position battles that Tennessee has been battling with.

There have been some massive position battles along the way, as the Vols have been looking for their third starting wide receiver, starting safety, replacement for Arion Carter for the first two contests, starting EDGEs, and, of course, the quarterback battle.

The quarterback battle has been the one that the fans have been watching the closest. This has been a battle between two primary quarterbacks, although some believed that veteran Ryan Staub still had a slight chance of winning the job. The two quarterbacks who were battling for the gig were Tennessee Volunteers' second-year gunslinger George MacIntyre and Tennessee Volunteers' true freshman Faizon Brandon.

While there was no prior timetable for when the coaches would make the decision public on a quarterback, it remained likely that the decision would come following the second team scrimmage of fall camp. This is something that the Vols did a season ago when Joey Aguilar was in a battle with Jake Merklinger, despite the heavy expectation being that Aguilar would be the quarterback to win the job in Knoxville. The news of that announcement came out right after the second-team scrimmage.

This battle made it all the way to the second scrimmage, and the coaches have finally announced who they believe will be the starting quarterback for the 2026 season, although the season has yet to begin, and this is all subject to change as the season progresses.

Faizon Brandon Announced as Tennessee Football's Starting Quarterback

It was announced that first-year quarterback Faizon Brandon would be the starting quarterback for the Vols, meaning he defeated the former in-state quarterback in the initial quarterback battle.

Brandon is a former five-star quarterback and was previously ranked as the No. 1 player in teh country. It remained likely that he would be competitive in this competition, but after the recent five-for-five ruling has allowed players to stay longer, it quickly became a decision made not only for the present, but for the future. This is something that was expected to play a factor, which is what helped Brandon lead throughout the fall.

This move will begin to take shape during the Furman game, although fans should expect to see a healthy dose of both gunslingers during that competition due to the talent that the Vols have compared to the Paladins.

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