'He nearly committed to Alabama' – Recruiting insider details how key Tennessee Vols commit almost landed with the Crimson Tide
247Sports revealed their 2026 recruiting rankings update on Thursday and five-star Tennessee Vols quarterback commit Faizon Brandon is still ranked as the No. 1 overall player in the nation (Brandon recently dropped in On3's recruiting rankings to No. 28 overall). "Faizon Brandon knows what he's doing," said 247Sports' Hudson Stanish. "He can push the ball […]
247Sports revealed their 2026 recruiting rankings update on Thursday and five-star Tennessee Vols quarterback commit Faizon Brandon is still ranked as the No. 1 overall player in the nation (Brandon recently dropped in On3's recruiting rankings to No. 28 overall).
"Faizon Brandon knows what he's doing," said 247Sports' Hudson Stanish. "He can push the ball down field. He's electric when he has to use his legs. And then we recently saw him when he came to the All-American Bowl combine and I'm not sure if he misplaced a pass on the day. His accuracy at the second and third levels of the defense has gone way up."
Brandon, 6-foot-4/200 lbs from Greensboro, NC, has been committed to Tennessee since early August.
According to 247Sports' Tom Loy, Brandon actually nearly committed to the Alabama Crimson Tide before announcing his commitment to Tennessee.
"It's pretty wild thinking back to his commitment to Tennessee," said Loy. "He nearly committed to Alabama. There was a little bit of a sudden change over a 24 hour span. He ended up sticking with his leader, Tennessee, and committed to them.
"At this point, you got LSU trying, North Carolina is making a run at him, which makes complete sense — he is a special talent. But I have just not heard a single thing from sources connected to Tennessee, or from Faizon Brandon himself, I do not think he's wavering even in the slightest. He's a super active recruiter….I like Tennessee to keep him in the class and I expect some big time talent to join him in Knoxville. "
The North Carolina native has reiterated numerous times over the last several months that he's solidly committed to the Vols. It sounds like the only time he questioned whether Tennessee was the right place for him was just before he announced his commitment to the Volunteers.
Brandon is the crown jewel of Tennessee's 2026 recruiting class. And as Loy noted, he should help attract some elite talent to Rocky Top.
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