Greg McElroy is betting on Tennessee’s quarterback race ending with the youngest name in the room.
The former Alabama star, who knows the SEC quarterback grind firsthand, weighed in this week on the Volunteers’ search for a starter and landed on true freshman Faizon Brandon. Tennessee enters the 2026 season still sorting through a four-man competition that includes redshirt freshman George MacIntyre, redshirt freshman Mason Phillips, redshirt junior transfer Ryan Staub and Brandon.
The Vols had to move on after Joey Aguilar could not return. Aguilar applied for a waiver in hopes of gaining another year of eligibility, but the NCAA denied it in February.
That left Josh Heupel with a fresh battle at the position, and McElroy didn’t hesitate to call it messy.
“This is one of the more unpredictable quarterback rooms in America,” McElroy said.
Still, he made his pick. Brandon, the No. 3 overall prospect in the 2026 recruiting class, is the quarterback McElroy thinks will win the job.
“After watching him just a little bit … I think he’s ready,” McElroy said on Wednesday. “I think it’s going to be Faizon Brandon for Tennessee this year.”
McElroy’s logic was simple: nobody else in the room has shown enough to make the decision easy.
“Nobody in that room has proven they can go win you the SEC, so you go with the guy who might,” McElroy said.
Now it’s up to fall camp to sort out the rest. Tennessee’s quarterback derby is still wide open, and the answer will come soon enough when the Vols line up for the opener. Whether McElroy nailed it or not, the competition in Knoxville is one of the more intriguing storylines on the roster.
No matter who gets the nod, Tennessee is trying to get back into the SEC title conversation this fall.
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