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

Tennessee‘s first practice in fall training camp is scheduled for Wednesday at Haslam Field.

Sixth-year head coach Josh Heupel met with media on Tuesday and discussed the Vols’ starting quarterback battle entering fall camp.

Tennessee has four quarterbacks on roster: early enrollee freshman Brandon Faizon, redshirt freshman George MacIntyre, redshirt freshman Mason Phillips and redshirt junior transfer Ryan Staub from Colorado.

“We are starting training camp, nobody’s going to earn it or lose it day one,” Heupel said. “Don’t want to see a guy make the same mistake twice. I want to see them be a different player than they were when they finished spring ball, in the command and control of what we are doing offensively. You play a position where you have to be able to distribute the football, so that’s understanding our scheme, defenses, protections, checks and all of that.

“Then, I want to see their fundamentals come into play, so that they can be consistently accurate down the football field. It’s not going to be perfect here as we embark on training camp. I say the same thing to our entire team, I want to see guys that don’t make the same mistake twice. They’re stacking reps, stacking days and continuing to grow as a player. Somebody will go out there and earn it. Once that guy has done that, then we will name a guy.”

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