Tennessee's Faizon Brandon benched for George MacIntyre vs Auburn - USA Today

Tennessee football coach Josh Heupel benched starting quarterback Faizon Brandon against Auburn on Saturday, Oct. 3, turning to backup George MacIntyre.

Brandon, a former five-star recruit, beat out MacIntyre in a competition for the starting role during fall camp. Brandon struggled mightily in the first half against the Tigers, though, resulting in the change.

The true freshman quarterback exited the game after completing 3-of-8 passes for zero yards and an interception against Auburn. He also rushed four times for negative-9 yards and fumbled, but it was recovered by the Vols.

"Faizon just wasn't operating," Heupel told the TV broadcast at halftime. "He wasn't feeling 100%."

Brandon has been up-and-down as a first-year starter, which was expected for a true freshman, regardless of his five-star prospect status. He entered the game having completed 58-of-93 passes for 697 yards with seven touchdowns, along with 49 carries for 139 yards with three touchdowns.

Brandon was sacked 10 times in Tennessee's 20-17 loss to No. 1 Texas in Week 4, rushing 23 times for two yards while completing 17-of-29 passes for 145 yards with a touchdown.

The Greensboro, North Carolina, native was the No. 10-ranked player of the 2026 recruiting class, per 247Sports' Composite rankings. He was also the No. 3-ranked quarterback and No. 2 player in North Carolina.

MacIntyre, a second-year quarterback, completed 5-of-5 passes for 38 yards to end the first half after entering for Brandon.

Here's a look at Brandon's stats this season before he was benched against Auburn on Oct. 3: