The Tennessee quarterback race may not end when fall camp ends. If Andy Staples is right, the Vols could be waiting until Monday, August 24th to make the call, a date he pointed to as a possible reveal for the winner of the battle between true freshman Faizon Brandon and second-year quarterback George MacIntyre.
That timeline lines up with the first Monday after what is expected to be Tennessee’s second scrimmage. It also fits the pattern fans have seen before, with Joey Aguilar and Jake Merklinger, when the decision came on a similar schedule.
Still, Ari Wasserman doesn’t sound convinced this is the kind of competition that can be neatly wrapped up in camp alone. He made the case that quarterbacks can be tough to fully judge without real contact, especially when they’re not being hit in practice.
"It's kind of hard to make a truly, 100% informed about your starting quarterback in camp if they are not being hit. Like sometimes people in those positions, that are, you know, pro contact, bigger, stronger, athletic guys, need to be thrown into a place where there is live action where they can truly evaluate how they are going to play on Saturday. So, I think that this is a difficult decision, and I'm not boots on the ground every day in Knoxville, but I wouldn't be surprised if this bled into the season a little bit so you can get to see live reps against real competition to have a complete evaluation on how he's going to play the game," Wasserman said on the podcast.
Staples also noted that even if MacIntyre looks like the front-runner, Tennessee would still likely want a live look at Brandon before settling things. In his view, the Furman game could be the moment that gives the staff a clearer read on the freshman.
"Even if you think that George outplays him going in and you name George the starter, you will probably get extended time looking at Faizon Brandon against Furman. Then you can have a better understanding of what he is going to look like in that environment when he's live and can get hit," Staples said on the podcast.
For now, the battle remains the biggest storyline in Knoxville, and it sounds like the real answer may not come until late August.
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