National reporter needs to publicly apologize to Josh Heupel and Faizon Brandon after saying something so off base that it’s offensive
One of the most absurd Tennessee Volunteers take you’ll ever hear…
Tennessee true freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon has started one game in college and he’s already the subject of the worst Vols take of the year.
And when I say the worst Vols take of the year, I promise I’m not exaggerating. It’s so bad that it warrants an apology, because there are people on the internet who will actually believe the kind of stuff that was said this week.
CBS Sports reporter drops an all-time bad Josh Heupel and Faizon Brandon take
CBS Sports’ Brandon Marcello shared some thoughts on Tuesday on Brandon’s debut and what his future at Tennessee could look like.
Unfortunately, his comments were centered on Brandon’s NIL contract with Tennessee instead of his actual play on the field.
Marcello suggested that Tennessee could possibly have another Nico Iamaleava NIL situation on its hands with Brandon, while also saying that Heupel’s system is mainly responsible for UT’s quarterbacks having “big numbers.”
“Josh Heupel needs to put clauses in these contracts that say, ‘You live in a quarterback system, so your numbers are going to be big. I’m not saying you’re not talented, but you’re probably not as talented as the numbers show,’” said Marcello. “And I say that to say this: Look at Nico Iamaleava, one of the first big contract disputes we had. Tennessee was going to pay him a lot of money, and then he ends up going out to UCLA to be closer to family and everything.
“And to me, this is a situation (with Brandon) where it’s something to watch. It just all depends on what type of people are around Faizon Brandon, and of course the season he has. But he is in a system built to have huge numbers this year, and if he has huge numbers, I’m interested to hear what his contract looks like and whether they can renegotiate that in the future or right after the season. If that’s the case, they’ll be asking for big money once again from Tennessee, and we’ve seen how that’s worked out before.”
If you’re a Vols fan seeing red after reading that, I don’t blame you.
And I’m willing to bet that Heupel is seeing red, too.
I mean, this is easily one of the most ridiculous things I’ve heard anyone say this month — and I’ve listened to everything Lane Kiffin has said the last couple of weeks.
First off, quarterbacks aren’t putting up insane numbers in Heupel’s system. The Vols are a run-first team, and that usually puts a ceiling on the passing numbers. Joey Aguilar currently has the most passing yards of the Heupel era (3,565 yards in 2025, which wasn’t even top 10 in the nation), but that higher total was due to Aguilar choosing to throw on RPOs instead of running the ball. It’s crazy to suggest that quarterbacks’ numbers are inflated in Heupel’s run-first scheme.
Secondly, the comment about talent is misguided. Brandon and Iamaleava were among the top-rated recruits in their respective classes. They’re among the most talented players in college football. They’re supposed to put up “big numbers” (and Iamaleava’s numbers weren’t “big” in 2024 at Tennessee, by the way).
Lastly, the comment about Brandon and the people he’s surrounded by shows that Marcello is speaking on something that he isn’t well informed about. Brandon’s family has been barely visible through this entire process. Brandon committed to Tennessee in 2024, and then Vols fans never really heard anything else about his recruitment. He committed to Tennessee and then went back to work with his teammates at Grimsley High School. There was never any NIL drama with Tennessee and never any wavering on his commitment. It was pretty much radio silence from Brandon after he made his decision just before his junior season in high school.
Adam Sparks of the Knoxville News Sentinel recently wrote a terrific article on Brandon and who he is away from the field. It answers all the questions about who he is as a person and the “kind of people” that surround him.
I’m not faulting Marcello for not being more in tune with Brandon and Tennessee football. He’s a national reporter and there are only so many hours in a day. But if you don’t know the situation better, then don’t put stuff like this out there. This is how dangerous false narratives get started.
Hopefully this false narrative gets squashed before it gets a chance to take off.
