Vegas sets the line for Tennessee football's quarterback competition

Las Vegas has set the line for Tennessee football’s ongoing quarterback competition. According to odds released by BetOnline, freshman Faizon Brandon is 2/3 or -150 to win the job and redshirt freshman George MacIntyre is 11/10 or +110.

MacIntyre appeared in two games as Tennessee’s third quarterback last season, completing 7 of 9 passes for 69 yards.

He was a four-star prospect in the 2025 recruiting class, ranked No. 195 overall in the Rivals Industry ranking. He was the No. 15 quarterback in the class and No. 3 overall in the state of Tennessee, out of Brentwood Academy in Nashville. 

Faizon Brandon was No. 9 overall prospect in 2026

Brandon was a five-star prospect in the 2026 class. He was ranked No. 9 overall in the Rivals Industry ranking, was the No. 3 quarterback in the class — behind Kaisean Henderson and Jared Curtis — and No. 1 overall in North Carolina. 

BetOnline also put odds on the Alabama, Clemson and Florida quarterback competitions. 

Keelon Russell is 1/3 or -300 to be the Alabama starter and Austin Mack is 2/1 or +200. Clemson’s Christopher Vizzina is 1/10 or -1000 to be the starter while Tait Reynolds is 11/2 or +550. Florida’s Aaron Philo and Trammel Jones Jr. are both 5/6 and -120.

The Vols went through spring football with the competition open and is set to stay that way through the summer and into fall camp. 

‘It’s important that you have that competition going to training camp’

Josh Heupel was asked during The Big Orange Caravan in April if he had a desired timeline in mind to name a starter. 

While only his quarterbacks can answer that question, Heupel pointed toward training camp in August.

“Ultimately when a guy earns it,” Heupel said. “I think it’s important that they earn it in front of their peers. But I also think it’s important you finish up spring ball, and there’s been a lot of work in the winter through spring ball. But you got an opportunity to sit back, digest everything, continue to grow in May, June and July and come back a dramatically different player, too. 

“So I think for all those reasons, it’s important that you have that competition going to training camp. That’s how we’ve handled it in our history and I think it forces competition through the summer and (brings) a lot of growth.”

That growth will be seen by both coaches and players, regardless of who wins the competition. 

“Certainly within the locker room, typically, there’s a feel from those guys,” Heupel said, “by the time you get to that point where a guy’s earned it, that this is the right guy. And in this game — we were just talking about nine conference games — it’s true at quarterback, it’s true at every position, you got to have growth and you got to have depth.”