With the Tennessee offense sputtering and George MacIntyre dealing with a minor knee injury, Josh Heupel had a not-so-easy call to make. He could either let G-Mac tough things out or go to the bench to see if Faizon Brandon had it in him to power the Vols to a tough road win at Texas A&M. Heupel went with the latter, and it ended up being the right call.
At the time of Heupel making this QB switch, the Vols were down 7-6. MacIntyre was clearly off his game, while also trying to battle through the pain. Shortly after the final whistle, Heupel was, of course, asked about the knee injury, with his explanation painting a clear picture of why the Brandon decision was one in his gut he knew he had to make.
"George got twisted up on the one pass play," Heupel said in his postgame presser. "He came back in and was battling through it, but had to go back (into the medical tent). With just where the game was, and what we felt like we needed, I didn't feel like it was the right place for George in just dealing with that injury. That's why Faizon was in there at that time, and both of them played extremely well. Proud of both of those guys. They've got big smiles on their faces. Excited about the win."
Josh Heupel made the right call in not forcing Tennessee QB George MacIntyre play through his knee injury
Can you imagine if Heupel flipped things here? MacIntyre could have seriously injured himself, putting the rest of his season at risk. Instead of going that route, the Tennessee staff put its trust in Brandon to step up, which he did.
Faizon Brandon's first pass is a TD 🤯
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) November 14, 2026
Vols up two-scores in the 4th quarter 👀 pic.twitter.com/OxD9x7tzMl
The true freshman QB wasn't asked to throw the ball all over the field or anything. That was made clear, with him only attempting one pass: a five-yard touchdown to tight end DaSaahn Brame. Where Brandon continues to be more dangerous is with his legs.
He rushed for 36 yards against the Aggies, but the threat of him taking off had an impact on the Texas A&M defense. That was only made better with an angry Mike Elko on the sidelines growing in frustration once the Tennessee offense started to click in the second half.
Now, the question begs... Who will Heupel rock with against LSU? As expected, he was pretty mum on that subject following the win, and it's not going to be any surprise at all if he says that he's going to wait to see how both QBs perform during practice before making a decision. It's the same old song and dance there that we've all gotten used to.
But if MacIntyre is still banged up and not close to 100%, then Heupel may need to sit him for another week. If MacIntyre is healthy, then that's another conversation, but Brandon keeps reminding his head coach that if he's needed to roll up his sleeves and deliver for the 8-2 Vols, he'll be more than happy to do so.
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