True freshman Faizon Brandon won the Tennessee Vols’ starting quarterback competition in part because he was so dedicated to football that he never went back home to North Carolina after arriving in Knoxville in January.

VolQuest’s Brent Hubbs detailed Brandon’s offseason on Monday and revealed Brandon’s decision to skip any trips home.

When I initially saw Hubbs’ article, I was simply amazed by Brandon’s dedication. I didn’t think about the significance of not going home — even for a day or two.

Faizon Brandon didn’t even go home to attend his high school graduation

Brandon’s high school coach, Grimsley’s Darryl Brown, however, made a comment to the Winston-Salem Journal on Monday that really hit home.

Brown noted that Brandon didn’t even return home to attend Grimsley’s graduation ceremony (which was held June 10) because he was so locked in on his work at Tennessee.

Brandon finished school at Grimsley the previous December, but the ceremony for the entire class wasn’t held until June 10.

Spring practice ended in April, so Brandon would’ve been able to make the quick four-hour trip home for the graduation and return to Knoxville without missing much time. But he was too focused on winning the starting quarterback job to make the trip to Greensboro.

That focus clearly paid off.

Brown, by the way, also pointed out that Tennessee is getting a playmaker in Brandon who is even-keeled and stays calm in pressure-packed moments.

“You have seen him yourself just be able to make athletic plays when things break down, and so I think that is an extra dynamic that he brings to the table, and then just his demeanor, just somebody who is even-keeled and doesn’t get emotional, doesn’t get too high, doesn’t get down when things go wrong,” said Brown.

“He just stays in the right frame of mind, and he is a competitor, so I think all of those things will serve him well playing in a really tough league.”

It sounds like Tennessee has something special at the quarterback position.