Vols coach makes a bold statement about Faizon Brandon that could bode well for his chances in Tennessee’s QB race
The Vols’ young QB begins his college career looking physically nothing like a true freshman.
The Tennessee Vols are back on the field for spring practice as they work towards Tennessee’s annual Orange and White Game on April 11.
Naturally, with two inexperienced but highly touted young quarterbacks taking the spotlight, the question of how Tennessee’s quarterback battle between George MacIntyre, Faizon Brandon, and Ryan Staub is one that Vol fans are most interested in finding out the answer.
While questions about MacIntyre’s weight and potential durability have dominated message boards and headlines over the last couple of months, Brandon’s frame and weight haven’t occupied the same amount of talking space.
But as it turns out, he’s at a good size coming into the program, something that’s often not the case for an incoming true freshman. Brandon is listed at 6-4, 215 pounds, and seeing him on the field in pads, he looks every bit of it.
That hasn’t been lost on Tennessee’s coaches, as offensive coordinator Joey Halzle noted on Tuesday when he talked to the media.
Tennessee OC Joey Halzle on QB Faizon Brandon — ‘he is physically ready’
“So, the first thing you’ve got to look at is, can the guy physically hold up,” Halzle said. “A lot of guys, they get on campus, and maybe they’re not quite ready yet physically, which is not uncommon. With him there, he is physically ready. He’s a big, strong kid. He can handle what it would take to go play 17 games in this conference.
“And then the next part is, alright, yeah, physically, he can hold up, he can do it. Mentally, how’s he grasping? How’s he doing it? Can he put the whole offense on him, or is it just part of it? Can he put the whole run game? Can he adjust protection? So if you feel like you got a guy that can physically handle it, and he’s mentally handling the basis of it, then it shifts to, alright, what can we actually put on this guy? How much can we put on him without making him now play slow? Because you want to put as much as you can where you’re not feeling like you don’t have your offense, but if you’re saying, like, if that’s a guy we’re starting with, and this isn’t his best thing, well then let’s not put that on him.
“So, we have to do a good job as a staff as we’re going through this entire decision-making process of, one, who is that guy, obviously, and then two, what are the physical traits that allow him to be successful? And then three, what are the mental traits that allow him to be successful? And then catering the offense to that.”
Brandon being physically ready and in position to step into an SEC game and handle the pounding doesn’t necessarily mean he’s going to win the starting job. After all, MacIntyre appears to be working hard at closing the gap and getting to the 210-pound threshold the coaching staff wants him to be at by the fall (he’s at 202 as of Tuesday, per MacIntyre).
But it certainly doesn’t hurt, when the (more) real bullets start flying in the Orange and White game and in fall camp, that he can avoid sacks and handle would-be tacklers well thanks to his weight, strength, and frame.
As far as how he’s working to translate his frame and weight into his game, Brandon said on Tuesday that he’s working with Halzle and Tennessee’s coaching staff to get his leg drives into his throws more.
“I’ll say the main thing is just really with all the coaches, the lower body, making sure that we’re using our lower body a lot. Just triggering and making sure we’re not getting too, I would say, static, just like in one place. Just making sure we’re always on our toes, kind of bouncing and ready to throw the ball at any moment.”
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