Tennessee QB Battle: ESPN Analyst Reveals Rep Split for Volunteers Quarterbacks

A notable ESPN analyst has detailed the rep spilt for the Tennessee Volunteers among their quarterback battle.

The Tennessee Volunteers are in the midst of their spring practice camp, where they are holding a major competition battle to determine who will be the starting quarterback for the 2026 college football season.

The Vols will be anointing their fifth new quarterback for the fifth consecutive season under Josh Heupel, following Joey Aguilar's unsuccessful attempt to receive an extra year of eligibility from the NCAA.

According to reports, the Volunteers' are currently in a three-person battle. As freshman Faizon Brandon, transfer Ryan Staub, and former backup George MacIntyre all compete for the role. Details regarding the battle have been extremely hard to acquire, as Heupel is understandably keeping information regarding the competition close to the chest.

But while information has been hard to find, ESPN's Greg McElory appears to have a unique detail regarding the situation in Knoxville, that could potentially provide some context to the Vols' quarterback battle.

Greg McElroy Provides Interesting Detail Regarding Tennessee's QB Battle

Jul 19, 2021; Hoover, Alabama, USA; SEC Network personality Greg McElroy visits Radio Row during SEC Media Days at Hyatt Regency Birmingham. Mandatory Credit: Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images | Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

"The rep order in practice is maybe telling us something, even if Heupel's not willing to," said McElroy. "In the first practices, it was [George] MacIntyre first, then [Faizon] Brandon second, and [Ryan] Staub third. So that's kind of significant."

Despite reports of the order of reps in the early practices, this information is not likely a strong indicator as to how the race is going and Heupel himself has reiterated to fans and analysts that a decision on the team's starter will likely not be made for quite some time.

Regardless as to who earns the starting job this fall, there will be some fairly hefty expectations set on the Vols' quarterback. The team is looking to rebound after a fairly disappointing season in 2025, fans are under the expectation that Tennessee should be competing for a College Football Playoff spot this season.

As the Volunteers' offseason continues, Tennessee's coaching staff will continue to evaluate each of its three options in order to select the quarterback who provides the roster with the best chance of success and will likely announce their decision as the regular season approaches.

The Vols will debut their new quarterback on Saturday, September 5th, when the team hosts the Furman Paladins for their season opener. A kickoff time and TV network for this game will be announced at a later date.