Tennessee's success with first-year starting quarterbacks detailed

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Tennessee's success with first-year starting quarterbacks detailed

Dan Harralson, Vols Wire · Vols Wire

Wed, Aug 5, 2026 ·

2 min read

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Tennessee will have a first-year starting quarterback in 2026 after the departure of senior Joey Aguilar from last season.

The Vols held their first practice in fall training camp on Wednesday. Tennessee has four quarterbacks on roster: early enrollee freshman Brandon Faizon , redshirt freshman George MacIntyre , redshirt freshman Mason Phillips and redshirt junior Ryan Staub .

Staub transferred to Tennessee from Colorado during the offseason.

Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Joey Halzle discussed why the Vols have been successful with first-year signal-callers.

"I think a lot of it is, we've been willing to not try to shove a square peg into a round hole," Halzle said on Tuesday before practice No. 1. "We've been able to look at guys and say, what does he do best and put him in position to be extremely successful. It's not about what we want to do, it's about what he can do at a high level.

"Obviously, there's certain things that they have to be able to do well. It starts in the recruiting process, it starts in the developmental process from a young age and not waiting until a guy's a starter to really start developing him. It's developing him right when he walks through the door, it's having a plan from day one to get him ready to go. I think with all that and then saying, okay now this is our guy, what does he do best? What does he struggle with? How can we tailor practice to fit him? How do we tailor our game plan to fit him? Where do we put the best pieces on offense around him so he could be the most successful? You put that all together and I think that's why you're seeing the success at that position like you have."

George MacIntyre (L) and Joey Halzle (R). Tennessee Volunteers kick off fall training camp at Haslam Field in Knoxville, Tennessee on Aug. 5, 2026.

Hendon Hooker totaled 2,945 passing yards, 31 passing touchdowns and three interceptions in head coach Josh Heupel and Halzle's first season with the Vols in 2021.

Joe Milton III finished the 2023 campaign with 2,813 passing yards, 20 touchdowns and five interceptions, followed by Nico Iamaleava with 2,616 passing yards, 19 passing touchdowns and five interceptions in 2024.

Aguilar completed 272-of-404 passing attempts for 3,565 yards, 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in his only season at Tennessee in 2025.

More: Vols' quarterback battle: 'Nobody's going to earn it, lose it day one'