Tennessee made a huge early splash in the 2026 recruiting cycle when it landed a commitment from five-star quarterback Faizon Brandon last August. Brandon gave Tennessee a true blue-chip prospect that the Vols could work around and is still planted atop UT’s class nine months later.
The 6-foot-3.5, 197-pound quarterback is ranked as 247Sports’ top overall prospect in the 2026 class and falls back just slightly to No. 5 overall when you factor in the other publications such as ESPN, Rivals, and On3.
During his 2024 season at Grimsley High School in Greensboro, North Carolina, Brandon passed for more than 2,800 yards and added 44 all-purpose touchdowns (35 passing, 9 rushing) to just two interceptions. He also led his team to the 2024 North Carolina 4A state title this past December. Brandon’s arm talent, IQ, and play style project to be a great fit in Josh Heupel’s system with the Tennessee offense.
According to ESPN’s Tom Luginbill, Tennessee remains in “near-daily” contact with its star commit as other teams battle to get a word. Rather than entertaining other programs or making a spectacle of his recruitment, Luginbill says that Brandon has been “focused instead on helping recruit” and adding more talent to the Vols’ 2026 class.
Since Brandon’s commitment in early August 2024, Tennessee has received commitments from four-star wide receiver Tyreek King, four-star tight end Carson Sneed, three-star wide receiver Tyran Evans, and four-star offensive tackle Gabriel Osenda.
The ESPN analyst sees Tennessee’s recent QB history and the Vols’ recent Nico Iamaleava situation as an opportunistic outlook for Brandon when he arrives in Knoxville.
“The departure of Nico Iamaleava could allow Brandon to battle for the starting job sooner rather than later in a very quarterback-friendly system,” Luginbill wrote on Thursday. “Several recent Volunteers quarterbacks have similar stature, athleticism and arm strength. Brandon is more advanced than Hendon Hooker at the same stage and the pair share several traits. Brandon is also much more accurate than Joe Milton. While he lacks Iamaleava’s polish at this stage, Brandon throws an exceptional deep ball, which is a requirement in this scheme that loves to attack vertically.”
Tennessee still has a lot to figure out at the quarterback position before Brandon’s arrival to Rocky Top with the 2026 class. There’s an upcoming quarterback battle set for training camp this fall between Jake Merklinger, Joey Aguilar, and George MacIntyre, after all. But Brandon is a solid young talent who has a lot of high-end traits that he’ll bring with him to Knoxville. And potentially even a few more highly-ranked recruits, too.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more Tennessee football offseason news.
