Tennessee coach Josh Heupel wants a little more time to weigh whether Faizon Brandon or George MacIntyre give the Vols the best chance to beat Arkansas.
Heupel said Monday there is no guarantee Brandon, a five-star freshman who started the first five games this season, will stay in that role.
“We’ll find out as the week goes here,” Heupel said Monday. “George came in and did some really good things. Faizon obviously wasn’t at his best (due to injuries) affecting his game.”
No. 15 Tennessee (4-1, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) goes on the road in the SEC for the first time this season on Saturday at Arkansas.
Heupel benched Brandon in the second quarter without a single passing yard in what became a 24-14 win over Auburn last week. He was sacked 10 times in the Volunteers’ 20-17 loss to Texas on Sept. 26 and appeared to injure his right shoulder in the loss.
Yet Heupel did not list Brandon on the injury report ahead of the Auburn game and disagreed that health was a factor in the loss to the Longhorns.
But he did begin giving MacIntyre first-team reps in practice. MacIntyre completed 8 of 10 passes for 86 yards. He was sacked once and threw no touchdowns or interceptions.