Tennessee's Josh Heupel won't name a starting QB for Alabama game

Josh Heupel isn't saying who will start at quarterback for No. 14 Tennessee when No. 6 Alabama comes to Neyland Stadium on Saturday. At his Monday press conference, the Volunteers coach wouldn't pick between sophomore George MacIntyre and five-star freshman Faizon Brandon.

"We'll find out here through the week," Heupel said, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel, which also ran the story through The Tennessean. He added that the team would practice Tuesday and build toward Saturday.

Adam Sparks of the News Sentinel reports that the vagueness may be on purpose. The two quarterbacks do different things well, so naming one would help Alabama narrow its game plan. Neither has played well enough to lock up the job for good. Leaving the question open also gives Heupel more time to evaluate both.

MacIntyre looks like the more likely starter. The former Brentwood Academy standout replaced Brandon midway through the Oct. 3 game at Auburn. He then made his first start in last Saturday's 24-17 win over Arkansas. He completed 18 of 29 passes for 247 yards and a touchdown, the most passing yards by a Tennessee quarterback this season. Heupel praised his decision-making and his poise in the pocket.

MacIntyre also had three turnovers in that game: two interceptions and a fumble. Heupel said the whole team has to protect the ball better and cut down on pre-snap penalties. Sparks notes that mistakes like those are hard to survive against Alabama.

Brandon's status is the bigger unknown. He started Tennessee's first five games and looked sharp in nonconference play. In that stretch he completed 61 of 101 passes for 697 yards with seven touchdowns and one interception, and he ran for 130 yards and three more scores. Things changed in SEC games against Texas and Auburn. He had trouble working through the passing game, was sacked 15 times and showed signs of a right shoulder injury. Heupel said Brandon dressed against Arkansas for "emergency use only" and had practiced very little. Before that game he threw only a few soft passes in warmups.

Asked how much the lost practice time could affect Brandon's availability, Heupel kept it short and said more reps help any quarterback prepare. The News Sentinel frames the open question as whether Brandon is an injured starter or now MacIntyre's backup.

Whoever starts will face a tough opponent. Alabama (5-1) visits Tennessee (5-1) at 3:30 p.m. EDT Saturday on ABC. Alabama is favored at -317 on Novig, one of the venues pricing the game, and the best sportsbook price on the Crimson Tide is -325 at BetMGM. The spread has Tennessee getting 8.5 points, and the total is 53.5. Full numbers are on the game page.

A good game in a win over Alabama would do more for either quarterback than anything Heupel could say this week.