Analyst drops revealing take on whether Faizon Brandon will be ready to see significant action as a true freshman QB at Tennessee
2026 five-star quarterback Faizon Brandon was one of the Tennessee Vols’ biggest additions this offseason.
2026 five-star quarterback Faizon Brandon was one of the Tennessee Vols’ biggest additions this offseason.
Brandon, 6-foot-4/206 pounds from Greensboro, NC, was rated by 247Sports as the No. 3 overall player in the 2026 recruiting class.
The talented quarterback led Grimsley High School to back-to-back state championships as a junior and a senior.
Is Faizon Brandon ready to be starter for the Vols in 2026?
There’s a chance that Brandon could be in the mix for the starting quarterback job as a true freshman at Tennessee.
For now, it’s unclear if Joey Aguilar, the Vols’ starting quarterback this past season, will be back in 2026 (the courts have to make that call).
If Aguilar isn’t back in 2026, then Tennessee will feature a quarterback competition between Brandon, rising redshirt freshman George MacIntyre, and Colorado Buffaloes transfer Ryan Staub. There are some folks who are bullish on Brandon’s ability to win the job.
247Sports’ Andrew Ivins, however, believes Brandon, who was the second youngest quarterback in the Top247 rankings, needs some time to “refine his game”.
“Brandon is a methodical and opportunistic passer, makes high-level tosses and rarely puts the football in harm’s way,” noted Ivins. “He might not be ready to go Year 1, but he’s the perfect fit for Josh Heupel ‘s up-tempo attack.”
Brandon has the talent to be a future first-round draft pick, but expecting him to start in the SEC as a true freshman might be a bit ambitious.
It’s possible that Brandon adjusts to life in the SEC quicker than anticipated. It’s far more likely, though, that Brandon will go through some ups-and-downs early in his Tennessee career as he makes the big jump from high school to college.
In other words, if Aguilar isn’t granted another season of eligibility, it feels like it’ll be MacIntyre’s job to lose.
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