Tennessee benches freshman QB Faizon Brandon after rough start vs. Auburn

No. 17 Tennessee changed quarterbacks in the middle of an SEC game Saturday at Neyland Stadium, pulling five-star freshman Faizon Brandon for sophomore George MacIntyre with Auburn leading 7-3 in the first half.

Brandon was 3 of 8 for zero yards with an interception and two sacks before the switch. The interception, his first of the season, came on a first-down throw from the Tennessee 11 and set up an Auburn touchdown four plays later.

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Faizon Brandon’s struggles carry over from Texas

Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Faizon Brandon (11) runs against the Texas Longhorns | Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

Brandon entered Saturday 58 of 93 for 697 yards with seven touchdowns and no interceptions, but Week 4 exposed the freshman. Texas sacked him 10 times in a loss at Neyland Stadium, and he briefly left that game with an injury to his right throwing shoulder.

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel backed the Greensboro, N.C., native on Thursday. “He knows that he can and needs to play better than he did Saturday,” Heupel said.

The protection didn’t hold up much better against Auburn. The Tigers sacked Brandon twice in the first quarter, and a first-down run later in the quarter lost 12 yards and ended with a fumble that Tennessee kept when he stepped out of bounds. As a team, the Vols managed zero net yards on 10 dropbacks before the change.

College football analyst Josh Pate put Tennessee on upset alert this week, citing the loss of guard Wendell Moe Jr. and Brandon’s recent struggles. Moe is out for the season, and the Vols reshuffled their offensive line for Auburn.

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Who is George MacIntyre?

Tennessee quarterback George MacIntyre (12) prepares to pass the ball during a college football game against Texas | TODAY Network via Reuters Connect (Reuters)

MacIntyre, a 6-foot-6 Franklin, Tenn., native who starred at Brentwood Academy, lost the preseason starting competition to Brandon. He committed to Tennessee in January 2024 over Alabama, LSU, Michigan and Clemson as the nation’s No. 15 overall prospect and No. 3 quarterback in the 2025 class. He threw for 3,229 yards and 25 touchdowns as a high school junior.

The in-state passer also comes from a coaching family. He’s the grandson of former Vanderbilt coach George MacIntyre and the nephew of longtime college coach Mike MacIntyre.

Before Saturday, MacIntyre had completed 6 of 10 passes for 62 yards and a touchdown this season, a 22-yard strike to five-star freshman TK Keys in the opener against Furman. He also filled in briefly against Texas while Brandon was evaluated.

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Tennessee quarterback outlook after Auburn

The change came as Tennessee (3-1, 0-1 SEC) tried to avoid a 0-2 start in conference play. Auburn (3-1) arrived under first-year head coach Alex Golesh, who served as Tennessee’s offensive coordinator under Heupel in 2021 and 2022.

Heupel spent the week defending Brandon’s development, so turning to MacIntyre against a former assistant marks a departure from the confidence they’d shown the freshman up to this point. Tennessee’s next game is at Arkansas on Oct. 10.

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