‘I think you could talk me into that happening’ – The national media is suddenly changing its tune on Tennessee football
Could the Tennessee Volunteers be better than expected in 2026?
Now that true freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon has been named Tennessee’s starting quarterback, it seems the national media is starting to change its tune a bit on the Vols heading into the 2026 season.
There are still a lot of unknowns with the Vols, so a lot of potential outcomes are still on the table for Tennessee this fall, but some in the national media are starting to warm up to the idea that UT could be a contender in 2026.
CBS Sports analyst thinks Tennessee could be on the edge of being a real College Football Playoff contender
CBS Sports’ Chip Patterson said on Monday that he thinks Brandon is set up better for success at Tennessee than redshirt freshman Keelon Russell is at Alabama (Russell was named the Crimson Tide’s starter this past week).
“I think that he’s better set up, maybe than Keelon Russell is,” said Patterson. “The experience that Tennessee has along the offensive line and DeSean Bishop is a dog at the running back position — he’s somebody who’s coming off a very productive season. I think wide receivers, maybe I would take Alabama’s room over Tennessee’s. But the entire picture for Faizon Brandon walking into this is the idea that you can trust him to just go out there and let it rip.
“I think that for Faizon Brandon, they always knew that his tools could be a perfect fit for the way that Josh Heupel’s offense is going to run. They knew that they had an offense that should allow for a true freshman starter to be able to step in, in terms of having experience around him. They just needed him to go out there and win the job, and it sounds like he has. Encouraging signs for Tennessee, a team that is right on that edge in my book of being a real playoff contender. I think you could talk me into that happening. Or I could see them going 7-5 or 8-4. The difference is going to be how their freshman quarterback plays.”
I don’t think anyone is crazy enough to suggest that Tennessee is without a doubt going to be a playoff team with a freshman quarterback at the helm.
But this team has a chance to make some noise if Brandon can continue to make plays and take care of the football — and if the defense can take a step forward from what we saw last season (No. 92 scoring defense in 2025).
And it seems the national media is coming around to that way of thinking.
