6 Biggest QB Battles to Watch During College Football Fall Camp – si.com

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Several college football programs enter fall camp without a starting quarterback, but here, we're focused on six competitions.
Alabama, Tennessee, Clemson, Florida, North Carolina and Vanderbilt each lost their 2025 starter and none has named a replacement.
The candidates include a five-star true freshman, a sixth-year transfer and a backup with 36 career pass attempts. Here is where each race stands, who is competing and when a decision might be expected.
Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer has to replace Ty Simpson, who left for the NFL Draft. Both candidates sat behind him last season.
Austin Mack is in his fourth year in DeBoer's system. The former Washington quarterback followed the coach to Tuscaloosa after the 2023 season. Teammate Ryan Coleman-Williams called Mack a "human playbook" at SEC Media Days. Mack completed 24 of 32 passes for 228 yards and two touchdowns in four games last season. He also relieved Simpson in the Rose Bowl and went 11 of 16 for 103 yards.
Keelon Russell is a redshirt freshman and a former five-star recruit. The Texas native completed 11 of 15 passes for 143 yards and two scores in limited work.
DeBoer has not tipped his hand. "I'd love to have the guy decided already. I think that's a benefit. But that's not the case," he said in Tampa. He wants to decide after the second scrimmage in mid-August. Last year he named Simpson the starter on Aug. 11.
Alabama opens Sept. 5 against East Carolina. Kentucky and Florida State follow in Weeks 2 and 3.
Tennessee coach Josh Heupel is replacing a starting quarterback for the fifth season in a row. Joey Aguilar ran out of eligibility. The Volunteers chased portal quarterbacks and missed, with Sam Leavitt picking LSU instead. Neither candidate has meaningful college snaps.
George MacIntyre is a 6-6 redshirt freshman and a former four-star recruit. He had an uneven spring and did not win the job outright.
Faizon Brandon is a true freshman ranked No. 10 nationally by the 247Sports Composite. The North Carolina product picked Tennessee over Alabama, LSU and North Carolina State. Heupel said the freshman weighs close to 225 pounds and can be used in the quarterback run game. "Faizon has grabbed onto our offense," Heupel said.
Heupel also described what he needs from whoever wins. "You have to learn how to take care and manage the game," he said. "Catastrophic plays are the difference in this league."
A decision is not expected until after the second fall scrimmage. Tennessee opens Sept. 5 against Furman at Neyland Stadium, then plays at Georgia Tech. That gives the staff one soft week to look at both passers.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney did not sign a transfer quarterback after Cade Klubnik left for the NFL. The Tigers went 7-6, Swinney's worst finish since 2010.
Christopher Vizzina starts camp on top. The redshirt junior sat out 2023 and backed up Klubnik for two years. He has played in 14 games and thrown 104 passes for 596 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. His lone start came against SMU last October, when the Birmingham native passed for 317 yards and three scores in a 35-24 loss.
Tait Reynolds pushed him hard in the spring. The true freshman from Queen Creek, Arizona signed on Dec. 3, 2025 and enrolled early. He was rated a three-star prospect by the 247Sports Composite. Swinney said the 6-2, 215-pounder is full go for camp after a limited spring.
"We all know the magnitude of these decisions. We're not stupid," Swinney said at ACC Kickoff. "But that's why we didn't go get the big shiny object out of the portal."
New offensive coordinator Chad Morris was more direct about who the leader on offense is. "Coming out of spring, coach made it clear, CV is our guy, and he will start fall camp as the guy," Morris said. Clemson opens Sept. 5 at LSU.
Florida coach Jon Sumrall took over a team that went 4-8 and lost DJ Lagway to Baylor. His first big call is at quarterback.
Tramell Jones Jr. is a redshirt freshman who backed up Lagway. The Jacksonville native completed 21 of 35 passes for 191 yards and two touchdowns in two games. Most of that came in the opener against Long Island, where he went 12 of 18 for 131 yards and two scores. He also played the entire second half in the loss to Kentucky and went 9 of 17 for 60 yards.
Aaron Philo transferred from Georgia Tech with three years of eligibility. The redshirt sophomore backed up Haynes King for two seasons and has thrown for 938 yards, 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Buster Faulkner was his coordinator in Atlanta and now holds the same job in Gainesville.
Sumrall said Philo is further along. "Philo's comfort level or confidence within what we're doing schematically is more advanced early on, and probably still is for that matter," he said. He also set the bar a little lower. "None of them need to be Tim Tebow."
Florida opens camp Aug. 5 with scrimmages Aug. 15 and Aug. 22. The Gators host Florida Atlantic on Sept. 5.
North Carolina coach Bill Belichick opened camp on July 30 with four scholarship quarterbacks and no favorite. "There's no leader in the clubhouse right now. Everybody's still out on the course," he said at ACC Kickoff.
Billy Edwards Jr. has the most experience. The sixth-year passer has played at Wake Forest, Maryland and Wisconsin. He threw for 2,881 yards and 15 touchdowns in his last full season as Maryland's starter. A knee injury ended his 2025 season at Wisconsin after two games.
Miles O'Neill came from Texas A&M, where he threw for 171 yards in eight appearances. New offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino recruited the 6-5, 220-pounder to College Station.
Au'Tori Newkirk is the only returning quarterback. He completed three of six passes for 23 yards, a touchdown and an interception last season. True freshman Travis Burgess is also in the mix after an ACL injury in September of his senior year of high school.
Petrino replaced Freddie Kitchens on an offense that averaged 19.3 points per game and ranked 118th nationally. North Carolina plays TCU in Dublin on Aug. 29. Belichick named his 2025 starter five days before the opener.
Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea has to replace Diego Pavia, who led the Commodores to their first 10-win season in program history. Vanderbilt went 17-9 over the past two years after going 12-45 in the five before that.
Jared Curtis is the highest-rated recruit the program has ever signed. The five-star flipped from Georgia during the 2025 season and stayed home. He played at Nashville Christian School, roughly 10 miles from campus.
Blaze Berlowitz has thrown 36 passes in his career. Nineteen came at New Mexico State, and 17 came at Vanderbilt last season, when the fourth-year passer threw for 131 yards and a touchdown in six games. He followed offensive coordinator Tim Beck to Nashville and has spent his whole career in Beck's system. Jack Elliott and Whit Muschamp are also competing for the starting job.
Lea would not commit at SEC Media Days. "The mission's winning, so this is about how we best position our program to win," he said. He added that he would use two quarterbacks if it helped. "We will do whatever winning demands of us."
Vanderbilt hosts Austin Peay on Sept. 5 and opens SEC play against Auburn in Week 4.
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Matt De Lima is a veteran sports writer and editor with 15+ years of experience covering college football, the NFL, NBA, WNBA, and MLB. A Virginia Tech graduate and two-time FSWA finalist, he has held roles at DraftKings, The Game Day, ClutchPoints, and GiveMeSport. Matt has built a reputation for his digital-first approach, sharp news judgment and ability to deliver timely, engaging sports coverage.
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