Joey Aguilar was hoping for a last-minute breakthrough in his bid for an eighth season of college football, but a judge rejected his request for another year of eligibility on Friday. He is not expected to suit up for Tennessee in 2026 unless a quick and unlikely appeal overturns the ruling.
Aguilar will now shift his focus to the 2026 NFL Combine in Indianapolis, while Tennessee begins its search for a new starting quarterback ahead of the upcoming season.
NCAA Decision on Joey Aguilar Leads Analyst To Crown Tennessee’s QB1
After the latest update in No. 26-ranked quarterback Aguilar’s eligibility situation on the PFSN’s CFB QB Impact Metric, Tennessee is preparing for a three-way battle for its starting quarterback position in 2026. Redshirt freshman George MacIntyre is expected to compete with five-star freshman Faizon Brandon and Colorado transfer Ryan Staub for the top job.
On his “Adapt & Respond” podcast on Sunday, RJ Young shared his thoughts on who currently leads the race.
“I genuinely believe that George MacIntyre is going to enter this thing as a frontrunner,” Young said. “Will he be the starter in 2026? Well, we’re going to get to that. We’re going to get to that. So, what is it to know about George MacIntyre that has given him something like a ground swell of, shall we say, optimism, or I should say there is a ground swell of optimism around him. Tennessee fans love it just like everybody else.
“Not to out Tennessee fans here, but love it when someone commits and signs with them and doesn’t want to transfer away. Imagine someone committing, signing, getting paid to be there and still going, you know what? I’d like to see this thing all the way through. Let’s just see where I end up.”
When MacIntyre committed to Tennessee in 2024, he was ranked as the No. 15 player in the country and the No. 3 quarterback in the 2025 class. He was ranked as a four-star prospect in the nation, according to 247Sports Composite.
MacIntyre was a backup along with Jake Merklinger. While Merklinger and Nico Iamaleava moved to other schools, Tennessee retained MacIntyre, who chose not to explore transfer options.
“You want that guy to succeed because, unlike Jake Merklinger, who went to Uconn or Nico, who went to UCLA, you got a guy who wants to play ball for Josh Heupel and is a native son,” Young said (1:48). “It’s not like George MacIntyre is not a highly recruited player. He also comes from a football family. His granddad was the head coach at Vanderbilt. His uncle Mike McIntyre, coach of the year at Colorado, 2016.”
Last season, MacIntyre appeared in two games, playing late in the 72-17 win over East Tennessee State and the 42-9 win against New Mexico State. He completed seven of nine passes for 69 yards and took 18 snaps.
Before heading to Tennessee, MacIntyre had a magnificent career at Brentwood Academy, as he led the Eagles to the TSSAA Division II-AA semifinals twice. He was a three-year starter at the school, throwing for 8,293 yards and 62 touchdowns in his time with the Eagles.
