​Tennessee football is not sending a quarterback to 2026 SEC media days with the battle for the starting job still unsettled.Rather, linebackers Arion Carter and Jeremiah Telander and running back DeSean Bishop will be representing the Vols in Tampa, Florida, along with coach Josh Heupel.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe SEC announced each team’s player representative for the four-day event, which spans July 20-23 at the Tampa Marriott Water Street and JW Marriott. Heupel and the three players will meet the media on July 20.1 / 5Tennessee unveiled its new Adidas dark mode football alternate uniforms for the 2026 season.(Kate Luffman/Tennessee athletics)Here’s why Tennessee chose these players to attend:Tennessee didn’t send a quarterback to conference media days last year, either, with Joey Aguilar not yet officially named the starter after transferring from UCLA.The Vols emerged from spring practice with no named starter. The frontrunners are redshirt freshman George MacIntyre and true freshman Faizon Brandon.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMacIntyre played briefly in two games last year, preserving his redshirt as he completed 7 of 9 passes for 69 yards between appearances against East Tennessee State and New Mexico State. He is a former four-star recruit out of Brentwood Academy in Nashville.Brandon, meanwhile, was Tennessee’s top recruit in the class of 2026 as a five-star ranked by the 247Sports Composite as the nation’s No. 10 overall prospect and No. 3 quarterback. He also went through spring practice as an early enrollee.Heupel will surely be asked about Tennessee’s quarterback situation, but he has previously said the competition will extend into preseason practice, which begins Aug. 5. Last year, it wasn’t until two weeks before the season opener that Aguilar was named the starter.Tennessee’s first game of the 2026 season is on Sept. 5 at home against Furman.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementCarter and Telander will represent Tennessee’s linebackers, one of the team’s strongest position groups heading into the season and one under new leadership with defensive coordinator Jim Knowles coming from Penn State to replace Tim Banks who was fired.Carter had a whirlwind end to last season that saw him opt out of the Music City Bowl, declare for the NFL draft, withdraw from the draft, enter the transfer portal and ultimately decide to come back to Tennessee for his senior season.The Vols will be happy to have him back after he led the team in tackles during the regular season and had six tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks to earn a spot on the coaches’ All-SEC second team.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementTelander, a senior, finished second in tackles last year.Bishop is a former walk-on who was a two-time Mr. Football winner at Karns. He shined in his first season as the Vols’ starting running back in 2025, rushing for 1,076 yards and 16 touchdowns, tied for the fourth most in UT history, to earn second-team All-SEC honors