While most of the news coming out of Knoxville has been about Boo Carter, little has been said or known about the quarterback situation there.
As many know, former UT quarterback Nico Iamaleava transferred to UCLA in April, leaving them without a starter, but according to ESPN college football analyst Greg McElroy, the Vols may still be in good hands, but he may shock Vols fans with who he thinks should be starting for the team.
“The one guy we have not talked a whole lot about is a guy named George MacIntyre, who has been running for the most part with the [second-team] and the [third-team],” said McElroy on his Always College Football podcast. “So it’s not like he’s getting live [first-team] reps all the time and he’s starting to show that [he’s] the guy. It’s not quite to that point yet.
“But if you talk to anybody that has watched Tennessee practice, if you talk to anybody that has watched Tennessee scrimmage, it sounds like they might have a gem in George MacIntyre. And while I don’t know if he’ll be the day one starter by any stretch, the fact that he’s in this competition tells you a lot about his makeup, how consistent he is, how accurate he is, and his comfort level right now operating Josh Heupel’s offense,” he said.
“He’s not the most physically mature guy just yet, but it sounds like the accuracy is something that is really surprising some folks and has been very, very impressive. So keep an eye on this. I still think it will be Aguilar (who starts). But the longer this competition goes, if it goes into the regular season, don’t be surprised if at some point this year you see the true freshman George MacIntyre. Because he’s been very, very impressive in fall camp up to this point.”
That has to be good news for Vol fans who may have been worried there would be a drop-off at the quarterback position.