Faizon Brandon is expected to start at QB for Tennessee, but there’s one detail about him nobody is talking about
True freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon is expected to be named the starting quarterback for the Tennessee Volunteers’ season-opener against Furman.
After a strong spring and an ever stronger fall camp, the expectation is that true freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon will be the starter for the Tennessee Vols’ season opener against Furman.
Brandon, a former five-star recruit, will have to play well enough on Saturdays to keep the job, but it looks like he will get the first shot at being “the guy” for the Volunteers this fall.
Redshirt freshman quarterback George MacIntyre also had a strong fall camp, but Brandon reportedly made more plays, and he has the higher physical ceiling.
Update:
ESPN reports that Brandon is the starter.
One Faizon Brandon fact isn’t getting talked about enough
If Brandon is named Tennessee’s starter as expected, he’ll be among the youngest starting quarterbacks ever in the SEC, joining names like Alabama’s Jalen Hurts (18 years and one month) and former Vols quarterback Erik Ainge (18 years and three months).
Brandon turned 18 on June 1. He’ll be 18 years and three months when Tennessee opens the season against Furman on September 5.
While freshly minted 18-year-olds start at quarterback from time to time in college football (Bryce Underwood just turned 18 weeks before making his first college start at Michigan in 2025), it’s something we’re seeing far less thanks to the growing trend of players reclassifying in high school.
Vanderbilt, for example, could also have a true freshman in Jared Curtis start at quarterback this fall, but he’ll turn 20 in December. Curtis reclassified in 2021 when he repeated eighth grade so he could join the 2026 class instead of the 2025 class.
Even Marshall Manning, the son of Peyton Manning, is a reclass kid. Marshall, who will turn 16 next March, was originally in the 2029 recruiting class before reclassifying to the 2030 class.
Brandon will be among the youngest players in the SEC this season and he’ll be in one of the highest-profile positions as the starting quarterback at Tennessee (again, assuming he’s named the starter as expected). That’s a lot to ask from a player who was in middle school when Hendon Hooker was lighting up box scores at Tennessee in 2022, but it’s also a testament to Brandon’s talent. He wouldn’t be in this position if Tennessee’s coaches didn’t think he could handle it.
