‘I would have been shocked if it did go well’ – Prominent analyst offers strong take on Tennessee QB Faizon Brandon and his future
Tennessee Volunteers true freshman quarterback was sacked 10 times against the Texas Longhorns last Saturday.
Tennessee true freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon played in his first SEC game last weekend against Texas, and it was a rough afternoon for the North Carolina native.
Brandon didn’t turn the ball over — he finished with 145 passing yards and a touchdown — but he was sacked 10 times.
For most of the afternoon, Brandon just looked like he was trying to survive.
Joel Klatt isn’t surprised by Faizon Brandon’s performance against Texas, but he’s not down on the young quarterback, either
Brandon wasn’t helped out by his offensive line, but he also held the ball too long a few times. He looked like an 18-year-old making his first career SEC start against the top defense in the nation.
And that’s why Fox Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt wasn’t surprised by the uneven performance from the true freshman.
Klatt also pointed out that the growing pains are a good thing for Brandon to experience.
“I’m not into huge moral victories here, but there was stuff to build on (for Tennessee),” said Klatt. “I thought they played well defensively. That’s still a good offense. I know that they haven’t played well, but they played well defensively. I thought that they got after the quarterback well.
“And here’s the thing with Faizon Brandon, as a true freshman quarterback facing that level of defense with that level of stars, I would have been shocked if it did go well. So you could be like, ‘He was a deer in headlights,’ or ‘He wasn’t ready.’ Yeah, he’s not supposed to be ready. He’s a true freshman. The game now is built for experience. We know this. We’ve seen it through the playoffs in the last couple of years. And guess what? He will be fine. There were some signs there, and sometimes you need to go through those lumps and those growing pains in order to become a better team. He was sacked 10 times. He’s going to see it better.”
Anyone down on Brandon after that game against Texas needs some perspective. I know development is a forgotten word in college sports these days, but it’s still the most important thing at the end of the day. Brandon has to have time to develop. And the only way to do that is to play. He’s going to improve because of what he experienced against Texas.
And I know there are fans who are screaming that Josh Heupel should’ve gone with an experienced quarterback this past offseason. Many of those fans, though, are the same fans who complain that college football isn’t like it used to be and that the rosters change too much from year to year. You can’t have it both ways….
Heupel is trying to do it the old school way. He’s trying to develop a quarterback as a true freshman so Tennessee will have a returning quarterback in 2027 and 2028.
Tennessee fans — the small portion who are loudly complaining about the quarterback strategy — need to let Brandon develop and see how things play out with him.
(“Those fans” should listen to what former Vols offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe had to say about going with a young quarterback over an experienced option.)
It’s either that or keep complaining, and I’m not sure what good that does anyone. The last thing the program needs is negative outside noise surrounding a talented 18-year-old quarterback who is trying to find his way at one of the most pressure-packed positions in college sports.
