Faizon Brandon’s high school coach learned something about him after his first pass, and it’s what’s going to make him special at Tennessee
True freshman Faizon Brandon is set to start at quarterback for Tennessee in the Volunteers’ season opener against Furman.
True freshman Faizon Brandon won Tennessee’s starting quarterback job for several reasons, such as his physical attributes, the ability to operate the Vols’ offense and make good decisions, and his playmaking skills.
One of the biggest reasons he won the job, though, is something that’s hard to see on film.
Brandon, despite being only 18 years old, has mastered the ability to forget the last play and move on to the next play. It’s something he’s excelled at since he was a freshman at Grimsley High School.
Grimsley head coach Daryl Brown, in fact, told a story to WBIR this week about Brandon’s first pass as a freshman in high school being picked off and returned for a touchdown — and how the young quarterback responded.
Faizon Brandon didn’t flinch after throwing a pick-six as a high school freshman
“His first pass attempt, he threw a pick-six,” said Brown. “An interception returned for a touchdown. And I can remember myself and the [offensive coordinator] having a conversation on the headset, and he just kind of asked me, ‘What do you think? Do we need to go back to the senior now on the next drive?’ And I said, ‘Absolutely not.’ I said, ‘This guy is our future. We’re gonna see how he responds and let him know that we’ve got confidence in him.’
“And he goes back out the very next drive, I’m not sure what down it was, but he pulls a zone read — it might have been a counter read for us — but he pulls it and he ends up going 80 yards for a touchdown. Just how he handled that — a ninth grader, two really good programs playing in a big-time environment and a loud, packed stadium, he throws a pick-six and it didn’t bother him one bit.”
Vols head coach Josh Heupel pointed out the same trait about Brandon this week during an exclusive interview with VolQuest’s Austin Price.
“Some of the things that that we saw when we watched him in high school football games and when we saw him play basketball,” said Heupel when asked what he’s seen from Brandon when mistakes have been made. “He’s very even keeled. It doesn’t matter if he’s up or down — he’s got the same demeanor, and he’s displayed that in our practices and our scrimmages, too. He’s made some mistakes, owns it, and learns from it. A lot of times, he can verbalize the mistake before you even go coach him.”
The physical traits matter, but the ability to have a true “next play mentality” is a separator for Brandon. That’s a skill that’s much harder to master than it sounds. But it’s absolutely necessary in order to be an elite quarterback.
Mistakes and bad plays are going to happen. And sometimes, the opponent is just going to make a great play (they get paid to make plays, too). That’s just how it goes when you’re competing. But once the play is over — good or bad — it’s in the past. And the only thing that matters is the next play. It’s not a cliche — it’s the most important mindset any player can have (in any sport) when competing.
It’s not always going to be perfect for Brandon, and there may be moments where he lets a play linger in his mind longer than it should, but for the most part, it sounds like he has the right mindset to be an elite quarterback in the SEC.
