Vols Notes: What to watch for as fall camp opens next week

With SEC Media Days in the rearview mirror, the attention for Josh Heupel and the Tennessee football program now moves to fall camp. Camp is set to open on Aug. 5, exactly one month before the Vols' season opener against Furman. The biggest question mark heading into fall practice is the starting quarterback position. Redshirt freshman George MacIntyre and true freshman Faizon Brandon are anticipated to be the two frontrunners for the job. MacIntyre appeared in two games last year, going 7-of-9 passing for 69 yards. Under the tutelage of new strength and conditioning coach Derek Owings, the 6-foot-6 quarterback has bulked up, being listed at 208 pounds after playing at 195 pounds as a true freshman. Brandon, listed at 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, was a five-star prospect out of Grimsley High School in North Carolina. He missed time his senior year with injury, but had a storied career that included multiple state titles. In 45 career varsity games, Brandon completed 71.4% of passes with 90 touchdowns to just 10 interceptions. Last week at the podium, Heupel emphasized the role of the rest of the roster in the success of whoever will play quarterback. "Whenever you start a young quarterback, it's important the other guys around him play at an extremely high level," he said. "We have a lot of guys that will put those guys in a good position to go do their jobs. It's important you tie everything, special teams and defensively, as well. "Great thing is those two guys are going to have an opportunity to go earn it in front of their peers. We're going to let the quarterback competition play out here during the course of training camp. I think that guy, like everybody else, has to earn it in front of their peers." On the offensive side of the ball, the Vols return much of their starting offensive line, 1,000-yard rusher DeSean Bishop, and top targets Mike Matthews, Braylon Staley, and Ethan Davis. Defensively, Tennessee is bringing back both starting inside linebackers, Jeremiah Telander and Arion Carter. Also expected to contribute in the room are returners Edwin Spillman and Jadon Perlotte and Penn State transfer Amare Campbell. Ty Redmond is expected to be the top cover cornerback after stepping into a big role last year. Kayin Lee, a transfer from Auburn, is also expected to get a lot of playing time at defensive back. At edge rusher, the Vols will be looking for production out of the youth in the room after parting ways with Penn State transfer Chaz Coleman over the summer. Sold-Out Neyland On Monday, Tennessee announced four of the team's seven home dates have sold out for this fall. The games against Kennesaw State (Sept. 19), Texas (Sep. 26), Auburn (Oct. 3), and Alabama (Oct. 17) will have capacity crowds in Neyland Stadium. The school's release also said limited tickets are available through the school for contests against Furman (Sept. 5), Kentucky (Nov. 7), and LSU (Nov. 21).