Tennessee Vols true freshman Faizon Brandon, a former five-star recruit, hasn’t participated in his first college practice yet, but he’s already facing ridiculous expectations.

With last season’s starting quarterback Joey Aguilar set to move on from Tennessee — unless he appeals the recent ruling that denied his eligibility in 2026 (which is unlikely) — Brandon will take part in a three-man quarterback competition this spring and fall.

Redshirt freshman George MacIntyre is viewed as the favorite to win the job, but Brandon certainly can’t be ruled out given his elite talent (Colorado Buffaloes transfer addition Ryan Staub will also be in the mix).

MacIntyre has a year of experience in head coach Josh Heupel’s offensive system, but he’s still very inexperienced — the Tennessee native attempted just nine passes as a true freshman last season.

Whichever quarterback wins the job will inevitably go through some growing pains — which, of course, are part of the development process.

ESPN is putting unfair pressure on Faizon Brandon

On Wednesday, ESPN named several college football freshmen that are “facing pressure” in 2026.

Brandon, who, again, has yet to take part in a college practice, was among the freshmen that ESPN listed.

“After a state court denied 2025 starter Joey Aguilar’s request for another year of eligibility, Tennessee could end up calling on Brandon to take charge of its offense as early as his freshman fall,” wrote ESPN’s Eli Lederman. “Colorado transfer Ryan Staub and second-year passer George MacIntyre present Josh Heupel with more experienced initial options ahead of Brandon, especially with the Vols staring down a daunting early season schedule in 2026. But it’s fair to wonder if the gifted young quarterback will eventually break through. Brandon arrives on Rocky Top after compiling a 35-1 record as a high school starter, and the big-armed passer has all the traits of a future franchise quarterback.”

Brandon’s talent is undeniable — he has the tools to be a high NFL draft pick down the road.

But it’s important to remember that Brandon is just 17 years old (he turns 18 in June) — he’s still very much in the early developmental stages of his football career. Suggesting there’s any “pressure” at all on him isn’t just unfair — it’s potentially detrimental to his development.

Unfortunately, that’s where we are in college sports thanks to the insane expectations placed on young players by fans and media. I know many college football players are getting paid big money to play these days, but a big check doesn’t change anything about the development process. And that’s the most important thing for any young athlete, regardless of whether they’re at a junior college or an SEC program.

The transfer portal and the NIL era have essentially created this weird “playoff or bust mentality”, which is terrible for young athletes.

Tennessee, for example, is in a spot where they have two extremely talented young quarterbacks in MacIntyre and Brandon who are the program’s top options to start this fall (no offense to Ryan Staub, I just haven’t seen him play much). Both of those players are inevitably going to go through some bumps in the road. And that inevitable adversity isn’t just good for their development, it’s necessary. Adversity is going to hit for every athlete at some point. I don’t care if you’re a future Hall of Famer or a career benchwarmer — adversity is coming in some form or fashion. That’s especially true for young players.

But because of articles from ESPN talking about freshmen facing pressure, along with the playoff or bust mentality, it’s like these players aren’t allowed to go through that adversity without facing ridiculous media criticism. And the more talented the player, the louder the noise.

We saw it last season with Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning, a highly touted recruit who went through some struggles during his first full season as a starter. Manning never asked for the spotlight, he just wants to play ball. But he couldn’t escape the criticism — all because he was going through the normal stuff that young athletes have been going through for decades (his uncle, Vols legend Peyton Manning, still holds the record for interceptions by an NFL rookie… and things turned out just fine for him).

Brandon and MacIntyre are like Arch in a lot of ways. Both of Tennessee’s young quarterbacks had fairly quiet recruitments — they didn’t seek out the spotlight. But because the recruiting services labeled them as elite recruits, they’re going to face high expectations the moment they step onto the field.

I don’t want to put limits on what MacIntyre or Brandon can accomplish as young players this fall — no one knows how things will go for either player. Maybe they struggle, maybe one of them cruises to the Heisman stage in December. I don’t know, you don’t know, they don’t know. No one knows.

What I do know, though, is that both players will be at their best when they’re playing free and not trying to meet the expectations that others, who haven’t been part of their journeys, have put on them.

When it comes to Tennessee football in 2026, the best thing for everyone — fans and media — is to forget expectations and just let these players and coaches go out and compete to the best of their ability and see how it all shakes out at the end of the season. I can promise you that less outside noise will lead to everyone on Rocky Top performing at a higher level this fall.

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