Welcome back to the Tennessee Vols in earnest, Faizon Brandon. The Vols’ once-starting quarterback saw extended action for the first time since the Auburn game during Tennessee’s 34-6 win over the Kentucky Wildcats at Neyland Stadium. And his presence on the field had a couple of impactful moments that swung a once-close game Tennessee’s way.

The first was on Tennessee’s first drive of the second half. Brandon took the snap on a designed run left and got a convoy of blockers for a 29-yard run. Tennessee would go on to kick a field goal.

Then, early in the fourth quarter, Brandon took the snap and started right. The defense started to go with him. But he tossed the ball to a sweeping Mike Matthews, who got around and up past the defense for an easy 24-yard touchdown.

Heupel says Brandon getting back to close to full healthy, Tennessee utilizing his skill set in situational football

Heupel talked about the play after the game, as well as Brandon’s progression.

“Situational football. Faizon, the last week-and-a-half, two weeks, has gotten back to being close to 100%. Wanted to utilize his skill set in this game in some of the situational football and apply pressure to defenses in another way. Mike, obviously, big run on the short (pass). We’re in the red zone, and great execution. And really good run by him, too, reading the cuts, sticking it and getting vertical.

“At the end of the day, a lot of really positive things in the run game, but there’s a lot of positive things out on the perimeter, wide receivers being a huge part of it, too.”

Heupel was asked further about the play and teams having to prepare for two starting quarterbacks.

“Certainly Faizon can throw it, too, you know what I mean, and trust him in that way. It’s a counter play, and we blocked it well. Mike did a good job reading it. Blocked it well out on the perimeter. It was just an opportunity to use Faizon in a unique way.”

It goes without saying that Brandon should have at least a package of offensive plays moving forward. And while the running element has worked well, it should extend beyond just running, or teams will key on him. And we know he can throw a good deep ball, as we saw at times early in the season, including the win against Georgia Tech.

We’ll see how Tennessee chooses to use him as they chase their first playoff appearance in two years, starting next Saturday at Texas A&M.