Tennessee's QB competition sparks buzz with On3 listing it as a storyline to watch

Tennessee Football fans have been waiting for the news of Joey Aguilar and whether he will be able to get another year of eligibility. For right now, we just have to assume his time in Knoxville is done and that we will have a three-way competition for QB1 next fall between redshirt freshman George MacIntyre, true freshman Faizon Brandon, and junior Ryan Staub.

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On3 has taken notice of the Vols and their quarterback competition. In a recent article, Tennessee made the list for the top college football quarterback battles heading into 2026, along with Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Iowa, Nebraska, and Virginia.

Ironically, Tennessee made a push for Beau Pribiula before he committed to Virginia, and now he's gotta battle it out with former Alabama and Pitt signal-caller Eli Holstein.

Who is in the lead right now?

It's tough to say who has the lead at this point without seeing any live reps, but my money is on George MacIntyre right now. He has the most experience in the offense, and he played well in mop-up duty last fall for Tennessee. MacIntyre has also reportedly added some good weight to his lanky frame, something he will need if he expects to play a 12-game brutally tough SEC schedule.

Don't be shocked if Freshman five-star and No. 3 player in the 2026 class Faizon Brandon makes some noise this spring. He is a winner, as Brandon won back-to-back state championships in North Carolina, and is a gamer. He has the intangibles needed to lead an offense and the arm talent to compete at a high level. There's a reason every recruiting service rated Brandon very highly.

As of right now, Ryan Staub is probably on the outside looking in. He played a little bit at Colorado last fall, but he wasn't great. When he was brought in, he was expected to be more of a depth piece and an option if somebody were to go down, but who knows, maybe Staub lights it up.

We still are very early in the process, but the quarterback battle is shaping up to be a very fun one this offseason.