Josh Heupel and the Tennessee football staff knows that the transfer portal is a valuable asset for them. They will utilize the portal in any way that they can and will look to bring Knoxville players who can help them compete for national titles.
One of the biggest question marks going into 2026 is who will be the starting quarterback for Tennessee next fall? Surely if Joey Aguilar can come back, he will be the QB1, but if not him, then who? Will they go inside the program and have an open competition between redshirt freshman George McIntyre and true freshman Faizon Brandon? Remember, the 2025 backup Jake Merklinger is planning on entering the portal.
Well, when it comes to the 2026 quarterback situatuion it sounds like we have our answer. Josh Heupel met with the media on Thursday morning, and regarding the quarterbacks' room, he said, "I think it's like your entire roster where there are moving pieces. As we finish the bowl game up and enter the portal, we'll look to position that room to help us compete next year."
Josh Heupel on the future of Tennessee's quarterback room: I think it's like your entire roster where there is moving pieces. As we finish the bowl game up and enter the portal, we'll look to position that room to help us compete next year.
— GoVols247 (@GoVols247) December 18, 2025
Josh Heupel hints at QB transfer
This is a fascinating quote from Heupel. He basically just said that if Aguilar is not back in 2026, we will make sure we have a championship-level guy on this team. This isn't a shot at McIntyre or Brandon; it's just not likely a freshman is the starter in this era of college football when you can get a veteran rental signal-caller for a year.
The pockets do run deep in Knoxville, and they may go big-game hunting. Brendan Sorsby would be an excellent fit for Tennessee. Sorsby is a quarterback with a ton of arm strength and can thrive in the RPO-heavy system. Sorsby has experience in a similar offense and has the ability to make the deep throws for explosive plays. Plus, he has some Knoxville ties. He should be the number one option, but he won't come cheap.
There are also some other big-name guys planning to enter the portal. Sam Leavitt, DJ Lagway, Dylan Raiola, and I'm sure plenty more will announce as we get closer to January. The options won't be limited for Heupel.
Hopefully, the Aguilar situation gets cleared up soon, so the Vols know precisely what they need when the portal opens in January. When the dust settles, Tennessee will have an elite quarterback it's just a matter of whether it's Joey Aguilar or a transfer.