College football spring practice QB battle updates, starter predictions at Alabama, Tennessee and more

Intel on five programs experiencing quarterback changes after the exits of starters nearing the end of spring.

As spring practice comes to a close for most teams this month, there are five undecided quarterback competitions we're keeping an eye on across the Power Four ranks, along with several others expected to continue into fall camp later this year.

Schools are allotted 15 spring practices for player development, schematic installation and position battles before breaking for the three-month offseason ahead of the 2026 season.

Multiple scrimmages -- and a spring game for a few -- provide coaching staffs with live action to determine where a competitor stands in the quarterback race and who leads the huddle with precise decisions.

For transfer quarterbacks, spring drills are imperative toward establishing relationships and familiarizing themselves with personnel and terminology before the real fight begins in August.

Challengers : George MacIntyre , Faizon Brandon, Ryan Staub ( Colorado transfer) Frontrunner : George MacIntyre
The latest ahead of Saturday's spring game : After a Knoxville judge denied Joey Aguilar's request for another season with the Vols, Josh Heupel was forced to turn to Plan B -- choosing a redshirt freshman, five-star true freshman or a depth signing to lead the first-team next season.

MacIntyre had nine total passing attempts last season behind Aguilar, while Staub started two games in three years with the Buffaloes.

Coming out of Tennessee's second spring scrimmage this month, Heupel didn't reveal who he was leaning toward , but MacIntyre and Brandon seemed to split reps, and their coach said he was pleased with the pair's decision-making.

This is the SEC's most mysterious competition under center and hardest to project based on Heupel's lack of details.

Brandon was the No.

3 overall player in the 2026 recruiting cycle , per 247Sports, and offers the highest upside of the trio.

The last time Tennessee started a true freshman at the position came in the 2023 Citrus Bowl when Heupel gave the nod to Nico Iamaleava after Joe Milton decided to sit out.

"For a true freshman getting here in January, seven weeks of offseason, what we did, and then hitting the ground in spring ball, through today, he's been really sound in what he's done -- I think [in] the pass game, certainly," Heupel said about Brandon last week after Tennessee's closed scrimmage.

"There's a lot on our quarterbacks in the run game, too, and that's an area that, at times, can be the hardest part for our quarterbacks.

But he's continued to progress in that.

"There's still a lot left for him and everybody in that room for us to be what we need to.

But, as a true freshman, certainly pleased with what he's done up until this point."
Challengers : Ashton Daniels ( Auburn transfer), Kevin Sperry Frontrunner : Ashton Daniels
The latest : Mistakes have been an issue at the quarterback spot for the Seminoles this spring as Florida State adjusts to a revised scheme with coach Mike Norvell calling plays after Gus Malzahn's retirement.

Following the team's 10th practice and second scrimmage, Norvell signaled both players "had a couple decisions to learn from" while experiencing live rounds from the defense.

Daniels, who originally signed with Stanford and played three years before transferring to Auburn, was beaten out by Jackson Arnold last fall for the starting role but saw significant action down the stretch after the Tigers' starter battled inconsistency.

Daniels preserved his redshirt after appearing in four games and finishing with 797 yards passing, three touchdowns and two interceptions along with 280 yards on the ground and a pair of scores.

Daniels was an ideal fit in Malzahn's run-heavy scheme but is now learning his fourth different offense in the last four years.

The decision for Norvell would be obvious if Daniels hadn't arrived this spring and had more time to master Florida State's plan.

The Seminoles are not holding a spring game this month for the second straight offseason.

Norvell said last week Florida State's quarterback competition could spill into fall camp.

Challengers : Austin Mack , Keelon Russell Frontrunner : Austin Mack
The latest ahead of Saturday's spring game : The former Washington transfer who arrived with Kalen DeBoer ahead of his first season with the Crimson Tide has played five games over the last two years and appears ready to be a first-time starter.

This is Mack's fourth year in DeBoer's system, and Russell, a former five-star and redshirt freshman, saw minimal action in his first campaign as Alabama's No.

3.

DeBoer is taking his time with the decision and expects the competition to continue into fall practice, unlike last offseason when Ty Simpson outplayed Mack and Russell for starting honors during the spring.

DeBoer has harped on leadership qualities throughout practice, notable considering Alabama replaces the wealth of its offensive production from last season and has a couple new starters up front.

"Keelon and Austin, and the respect -- really, the way they appear to care for each other, and I think it's pretty genuine," DeBoer said on " Josh Pate's College Football Show ." "They've got me fooled if it's not, in a big way.

They lead -- not together, because they're different.

But they really are leading this team, and when they're out there, both sides of the ball really appreciate how they've approached it: team-first.

But they also are doing their part to lead this football team."
Challengers : Beau Pribula ( Missouri transfer), Eli Holstein ( Pittsburgh transfer) Frontrunner : Beau Pribula
The latest ahead of April 18 spring game : The Cavaliers went to the portal this spring for several quarterback additions with starting experience given the unknown future of Chandler Morris after reaching last season's ACC Championship Game.

Morris was denied a seventh year of eligibility last week , giving Tony Elliott a chance to finally put to bed the idea of having him back for 2026.

Pribula, a redshirt senior, missed time last season with a lower leg injury but threw for 1,941 yards, 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions at Missouri after transferring from Penn State .

Holstein, a fourth-year junior who originally signed with Nick Saban and Alabama out of high school, spent the last two seasons as the Panthers' starter before being overtaken by true freshman Mason Heintschel last October.

"They both have shown the ability to be successful," Elliott said as Virginia opened spring camp last month .

"(I) think that when you look at Eli, he obviously came in at Pitt and tore it up for a little while, and has a big arm ...

and he's also been in different programs, so you know the kind of DNA that he's bringing in.

"Beau is a guy that, again, he's had success when he's been in there.

He can use his legs a little bit more but also can make all the throws and, so, kind of a similar situation to what we lost.

The guy loves to compete, and he's tough as nails.

You saw the battle through some injuries ...

a guy that his teammates would follow.

So that's what we saw."
Challengers : Austin Philo ( Georgia Tech transfer), Tramell Jones Frontrunner : Austin Philo
The latest ahead of Saturday's spring game : Another tight competition in the SEC, Philo may have the leg up on Jones given the arrival of Buster Faulkner as Florida's new offensive coordinator.

Philo studied under Faulkner the last two seasons with the Yellow Jackets, playing behind veteran quarterback Haynes King .

The Georgia native played in two games as a redshirt freshman, including a 373-yard start against Gardner-Webb with King on the mend.

Jones, a former three-star signee in 2025 who flipped his commitment from Florida State, re-signed with the Gators in December after meeting with first-year coach Jon Sumrall.

The redshirt freshman completed 21 of 35 passes for 191 yards and two touchdowns in appearances against Long Island and Kentucky behind DJ Lagway .

Both quarterbacks rotated first-team reps and reportedly threw impressive touchdown passes during Florida's second closed scrimmage , but it was Philo who trotted out with the 1s first.

Sumrall said he has "no idea" who will be QB1 and said one of the players will have to "earn" the right to start.

"They're challenging each other, but they're doing it in a healthy, competitive way," Sumrall said on March 31.

"I tell them all the time, you don't elevate by pushing someone else down, and really, someone else elevating should help you elevate.

So, I like how they're competing with each other, not against each other.

We got a long way to go to identify who's going to be the trigger man that gets the opportunity to start Game 1.

Just because you start Game 1 doesn't mean you're starting Game 2 or 3 or 4."