Tennessee quarterback George MacIntyre will make his first career start Saturday against Arkansas, sources told ESPN's Pete Thamel.
A 6-foot-6 sophomore from Franklin, Tennessee, MacIntyre came on in relief of freshman Faizon Brandon during Saturday's win over Auburn, completing 8 of 10 passes with no turnovers.
Brandon, who has started every game this season, threw an interception before he was pulled from the game. It was his first pick of the season.
Brandon has completed 61 of 101 pass attempts this season for 697 yards and seven touchdowns. He has also run 53 times for 236 yards and three touchdowns.
Brandon injured his shoulder during a 20-17 loss to No. 1 Texas two weeks ago, leaving the game briefly before returning and finishing out the game.
On Monday, Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said Brandon "wasn't at his best dealing with getting injured in the Texas game."
"I thought he did a really good job of staying engaged and getting mental reps," Heupel said. "We were making him take drops during the early part of the week, right behind the pocket. Ultimately just everybody together, we weren't playing our best football early. But he's a competitor. He's extremely tough. He's a winner. And he'll continue to bounce back from what he was dealing with."
Heupel said that Brandon "handled it well" when he was benched for MacIntyre against Auburn.
"He was a good teammate during the course of the football game," he said. "Disappointed in that moment, but also, I think he realized he wasn't playing at his best in major part because of what he was dealing with physically from the week before.
"Those guys have been great together in the room. I'm not saying they're best of friends hanging out outside of the building, but they've been really good inside of the room and on the practice field and on game day together. So anticipate that continuing here as we go."
MacIntyre has appeared in four games this season, completing 14 of 20 passes for 148 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. A former four-star prospect and No. 1-ranked recruit in Tennessee, he played in two games last season.