Tennessee QB George MacIntyre to make first career start vs. Arkansas in place of injured Faizon Brandon

The Volunteers QB situation could get interesting with MacIntyre making his first start vs. the Razorbacks

Oct 6, 2026 at 8:17 pm ET • 1 min read

No. 15 Tennessee will travel to Fayetteville this weekend to face Arkansas, and when the Volunteers offense takes the field it will be led by quarterback George MacIntyre, who will start for the first time in his career, sources confirmed to CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz.

Faizon Brandon is dealing with a lingering shoulder injury suffered late in the Volunteers' loss to No. 1 Texas two weeks ago, and after trying to give it a go against Auburn on Saturday, he was unable to finish the game. 

MacIntyre led Tennessee to a 24-14 win over the Tigers after taking over for Brandon in the second quarter. MacIntyre completed 8-of-10 passes for 86 yards in a game the Volunteers did most of their damage on the ground, with DeSean Bishop rushing for 220 yards and three touchdowns in the win. 

Josh Heupel made the hard call benching former 5-star Faizon Brandon, but what happens next for Tennessee?

Austin Nivison

The sophomore will now get his first start on the road against an Arkansas team that is widely regarded as the worst in the SEC. MacIntyre will look to get the Vols to 5-1 against a Razorbacks defense that is giving up the second-most points of any team in the SEC at 28.4 per game and is at the bottom of the conference in most every defensive metric. 

The big question for Josh Heupel and the Vols going forward is who will get the start when they visit Tuscaloosa on Oct. 17 and take on No. 6 Alabama. That will likely be determined by Brandon's health and how the offense looks with MacIntyre running the show. If the Volunteers look crisp and MacIntyre has a fantastic game at Arkansas, even if Brandon is healthy enough to go, Heupel will have to consider his options going into a huge game against the Crimson Tide.