Why George MacIntyre (the Vanderbilt coach) would be smiling at grandson's Tennessee future
BRENTWOOD – Matt MacIntyre paused for a moment late Monday morning.
He'd just warned me that he often gets a lump in his throat when he talks about his late father, former Vanderbilt football coach George MacIntyre.
But this was the logical question on this day at Brentwood Academy — the day Matt's son and the youngest MacIntyre male of this generation — made his college football decision. What would George think of the grandson of his namesake playing quarterback in high school and especially in college at Tennessee?
"He was a big-time encourager," Matt said. "He would have enjoyed watching him compete immensely. Someone told me, my aunt Brenda Holmes, told me he is getting to watch."
The younger MacIntyre sat at midcourt in the Brentwood Academy gymnasium Monday morning with his parents Matt and Sarah beside him. His two sisters sat one seat next to them. There he announced to the Brentwood Academy student body and about a dozen or so journalists he's committed to Tennessee football and Josh Heupel, where he will be part of the 2025 signing class.
"They are different (people)," Matt said. "My father was a quarterback at Miami and ran the Wing-T. I'm not sure if George could run the Wing-T."
Trust me, there are no plans for this generation's George MacIntyre running a Wing-T anytime soon.
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The younger Macintyre, a 6-foot-5, 190-pounder, will wrap up his high school football career at Brentwood Academy this fall as the third-year starter. The five-star quarterback prospect, rated as the nation's No. 15 overall prospect, has thrown for 5,570 yards the past two seasons at Brentwood Academy. He has 44 career TDs and 16 interceptions, 12 of which came in 2023.
"It means a lot to be able to carry on what I guess now is a tradition in the family," MacIntyre said. "I've always been around football. Every male that I know on that side of the family has played college football. It started with my grandfather, my dad, my uncle and my two cousins. To carry that on means a lot."
George MacIntyre stories abound in recruitment
This all starts with the eldest George MacIntyre, who died in 2016. He played at Miami in the late 1950s, eventually got into coaching and was best known for what he did at Vanderbilt from 1979-85. He was a recipient of the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year, and his tenure included an 8-4 season in 1982 and trip to the Hall of Fame Bowl.
The younger MacIntyre has heard stories about his grandfather since he was a kid. Matt said those stories have continued since he became one of the top quarterbacks in the country. He's currently the No. 3-ranked QB for the 2025 class, according to the 247Sports Composite.
"Coach (Kevin) Steele at Alabama walked right up to him and said, 'Let me tell you about your grandfather,'" Matt said. "Coach (Willie) Martinez walked up to him at Tennessee and said, 'Let me tell you about your grandfather.' Coach (Derek) Dooley at Alabama said the same thing. Because they knew him or they knew of him or they played against him or coached against him.
"George does a good job about listening. (Former Western Kentucky coach) Jack Harbaugh said something about my dad. He does a good job of listening to stories."
And Matt has done a good job of knowing his role in his son's recruitment. This was never about him.
Matt stayed out of it and has been the supportive father. He left his brother Mike MacIntyre, the Florida International football coach known as "Uncle Mike," to answer questions for his nephew.
"I kind of let George do his thing," Matt said. "I tell people, 'I played college football and it was hard.' If I made him go somewhere, that would have been hard to deal with."
Now, George MacIntyre gets to work on his story. Brentwood Academy was about an inch from reaching the Division II-AAA state championship game during his sophomore in 2022. He followed that up with being part of a 2-10 season, the worst in program history.
He said after the basketball season ends that focus will shift toward football and finishing out his high school career. After that, he'll turn his attention to Knoxville and the Vols.
"I was just saying to someone that three years ago I would have never expected necessarily this," said Sarah, who attended Tennessee. "He grew up going to Pac-12 games. It's been fun to watch it evolve."
Reach Tom Kreager at 615-259-8089 or tkreager@tennessean.com and on the X platform, formerly Twitter, @Kreager.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: George MacIntyre's grandfather would relish QB's Tennessee football future
