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After nearly knocking off the No. 1 Texas Longhorns last week, Tennessee struggled at home early against the Auburn Tigers. The offensive struggles were so bad that Vols head coach Josh Heupel pulled starting quarterback Faizon Brandon early in the game.
Brandon, a former five-star recruiting prospect, made history this year at Tennessee as the Vols' first true freshman to start at quarterback since 2004.
Why did Tennessee bench Faizon Brandon?
Brandon was struggling in the first half. The Vols punted on each of their first four drives. In the second quarter, Brandon managed to lead Tennessee to a field goal drive to make it 3-0.
Things didn't exactly improve from there, though. Following consecutive fumbles by both teams, Tennessee's defense forced an Auburn punt. On Tennessee's first play on first down, Brandon threw the first interception of his career.
Heupel pulled Faizon from there, and his backup, George MacIntyre, came in for him. MacIntyre led the Vols to a win after entering the contest.
“Faizon just wasn’t operating,” Heupel told ESPN’s Stormy Buonantony at halftime via On3Sports. “He didn’t feel 100%. George came in, did some positive things. We’ve got to go find a way to move the ball here in the second half.”
All in all, Brandon finished three-for-eight passing for zero net yards passing, adding negative yardage on the ground.
Who came in for Faizon Brandon?
Brandon's backup, George MacIntyre, came in for Brandon and finished out the game. Tennessee's offense was led by running back DeSean Bishop, who had 220 yards and three touchdowns on the day.
But Macintyle finished with eight completions for 86 yards. He had a couple of nice throws coming in for Faizon:
George MacIntyre enters the game at QB for Tennessee. After a short run for a 1st, he competes his first pass. 1st and 10 Tennessee at the 2 minute warning
7-3 Auburn on top pic.twitter.com/bpL2kFGtCa
1st vid: Faizon bailing out of a decently clean pocket a little prematurely with Brame coming open in the zone over the middle.
2nd vid: George MacIntyre standing in the pocket and throwing with anticipation.
Faizon’s legs are a weapon, but Vols need downfield vision right now. pic.twitter.com/MkPPIKMYRa
MORE: Mississippi State star QB Kamario Taylor leaves loss to Alabama with injury
Who is George MacIntyre?
MacIntyre is a sophomore at Tennessee who took a redshirt last season with the Vols. He saw action for a series last week against Texas when Brandon came out with an injury before briefly returning.
He's a former four-star quarterback prospect from the class of 2025 out of Brentwood, Tenn. Per 247Sports, he was rated as the No. 13 overall signal-caller in his class and the No. 2 overall prospect from his home state of Tennessee.
Faizon Brandon recruiting ranking
Brandon is a former five-star, rated by the 247Sports Composite as the No. 3 overall quarterback and the No. 2 prospect out of North Carolina.
We'll see if the move is temporary or if Heupel goes with MacIntyre permanently, but a robust transfer market for Brandon will exist if he is indeed benched for the season.
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