Tennessee true freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon made his SEC debut on Saturday in the Vols’ 20-17 loss to Texas.

And it was certainly a “Welcome to the SEC” moment for Brandon.

Brandon, who completed 17-of-29 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown, was sacked 10 times and hit over 20 times.

Some of those sacks were on the Vols’ offensive line (that group consistently lost one-on-one matchups to the Longhorns’ defensive line), but not all of them. Brandon held onto the ball too long at times and was slow to pull the trigger when receivers flashed open.

It was Brandon’s first SEC start, and it was the best defense he’s ever seen in his life. It’s understandable that the game sped up on him a little bit. But if the Vols are going to make a College Football Playoff push this season — and I think they have a roster that’s talented enough — then Brandon is going to have to just let it rip and live with the result (good or bad).

Tennessee knows exactly what Faizon Brandon needs to unlock the next step

Brandon has all the tools to be an elite quarterback. He has elite size, a great arm, can do damage with his legs and he’s a great leader who is remarkably mature for his age. Brandon is also accurate with the football and he can process quickly.

The next step for Brandon is just playing free and not worrying about making mistakes.

It’s the same thing that held Hendon Hooker back when he first arrived at Tennessee a little over five years ago.

“When we first got here, I watched every clip that every quarterback that was on campus had from game film,” said Vols offensive coordinator Joey Halzle in 2022. “Hendon was clearly very talented. Was excited for the opportunity to work with him. With what everybody said about him, he was a great guy. Starting to work with him when we first got here — February, March, and then into spring ball — Hendon was a guy that was way too far in the business model, meaning, like, nothing was fun.

“Everything was serious. Everything was (work), and that wasn’t his best way to play. Some guys it is. It is not for him. So we had to do a long time of working on having him just really enjoy the game (every) day. Working hard — working hard doesn’t mean serious all the time, though. He’s fun, he’s having it and enjoying his time out on the field, and that is what’s allowed his talent to now take over again. He’s not tightening himself up with his own mind.”

I love this from @CoachHalzle. Work hard always. Be relentless. But have some fun doing it. pic.twitter.com/haIJaLtr8L

— zach ragan (@zachTNT) August 3, 2022

“We had to just bend that mind a little bit and work on his mind every single day to, Yes, this is football, this is fun,” added Halzle. “But you can be serious, but you have to do it in a fun way. It doesn’t mean not paying attention. It doesn’t mean being completely goofy out there on the field and not having a mindset that we have something to go do.

“But there’s a way to do it in which you can still enjoy the game that you’re playing. And when he started doing that, he started loosening up, and that’s when you saw the growth in Hendon last year.”

It’s not uncommon for quarterbacks to need to loosen up a little and just play their game. That’s the only way they can fully reach their potential. Otherwise, reads can be a tick too slow, and plays don’t get made during the small windows when receivers are open. Hesitating for even a moment can ruin a play.

This is something that even Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel struggled with when he first arrived at Oklahoma in 1999.

The late Mike Leach, who was Oklahoma’s offensive coordinator in 1999, once commented on how he had to get Heupel to loosen up.

“He’d overanalyze everything on the sidelines,” said Leach in 2000 (via ESPN). “I had to tell him, ‘Look, these guys are following you. You have to keep them loose.’ ” The next time he glanced at Heupel, Leach says, “Son of a gun if he didn’t have this wide, overexaggerated smile. He wasn’t trying to be a smart-ass. He was really just trying to smile.”

Brandon isn’t going to play perfect — he’s going to make mistakes. He just needs to go out there, play fast and free and trust what he sees.