Tennessee true freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon was removed from the SEC availability report on Friday, but he didn’t see any action in the Vols’ 26-10 win over Alabama on Saturday.

The expectation was always that sophomore George MacIntyre would start against Alabama, but there was speculation that Brandon would see some playing time.

MacIntyre, however, played extremely well and there was no reason to rock the boat by using two quarterbacks. Vols head coach Josh Heupel wisely rode the hot hand and it paid off in a big way.

Brandon, who started the first five games of the year before suffering a shoulder injury against Texas, is probably feeling a bit down right now. And that’s understandable. He wasn’t playing well against Texas before the injury, and that carried over into the first half against Auburn two weeks ago. The last time Brandon was on the field, he threw an interception.

But it’s important that Brandon remembers he’s still in the very early stages of his college football career. Most true freshman quarterbacks — especially ones like Brandon who just turned 18 a couple of months before the season started — are not starting in the SEC.

Brandon still has immense upside. He still has the talent to be a first round draft pick. And he could still have a huge impact for the Vols in 2026.

The North Carolina native needs to stay locked in and ready right now. You never know when another opportunity is going to come along. It may be next week against South Carolina or it may be in the final week against Vanderbilt. I don’t know when it will be, but Brandon is almost certainly going to get another chance.

Who knows, maybe it comes in post-season play.

I’m sure we all remember how Tua Tagovailoa replaced Jalen Hurts at halftime of Alabama’s win over Georgia in the 2017 national championship game. You just never know how a season is actually going to play out.

Brandon can’t get down on himself. He has to continue to compete and prepare as if he’s the starter. I don’t know how or when it’s going to happen, but I truly believe Brandon is going to play some important snaps down the stretch for the Vols at some point this season.