According to 247Sports’ all-time rankings, Tennessee quarterback commit Faizon Brandon is the Vols’ seventh highest-rated recruit in the rankings era. The hype around the North Carolina signal caller is massive, but for good reason.
Brandon has the arm talent to succeed in Josh Heupel’s offense, the raw size to play in the SEC, and has a competitor’s mindset as he took Grimsley High School to a North Carolina state championship during his junior season in 2024.
There’s still plenty of room to grow and be molded, and the transition to the SEC is a gigantic step from high school competition. But Brandon’s high school and offseason camp tape has been something that has Tennessee fans eager to see what his future holds in Knoxville.
While he does intend to go through the normal process with his high school timeline, Brandon revealed this week that there were at least a few thoughts about potentially bumping that timeline up.
Brandon was asked by 247Sports in a recent interview at the Elite 11 camp this week if he had any thoughts about jumping up a class and getting to Knoxville a year earlier than expected with all the surprise movement that Tennessee had at the quarterback position this offseason. The 17-year-old prospect said that while the thought did cross his mind, it was already too late in the process. He also wanted to see things through with his high school program after starting work for the upcoming season.
“Yeah, it has, but I would say (with) how late it was, what had happened, just already working out with my (high school) team and stuff,” Brandon said in the interview about having thoughts of speeding up his recruiting timeline. “I would say just leaving them like that, it wouldn’t be a good look, I don’t think. But I was definitely thinking about it. Maybe if it would’ve happened right after the state championship or something, it probably could’ve happened. But, I would say how late it happened, I don’t think I would do it.”
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Brandon’s comments revolved around Tennessee’s divorce with quarterback Nico Iamaleava on the weekend of the Orange & White spring game this past April, leaving a spot to be filled behind center. The college football world was rocked by the news, but as Brandon mentioned, it all unfolded very late in the process. If he did choose to bump up a class and join the program early, he would’ve missed out on critical spring camp experience at such a young age.
Instead, Brandon will go through the different offseason camps, such as the Elite 11, heading into his senior season. He’ll be able to continue developing against high school competition before he arrives in Knoxville with the rest of the Vols’ 2026 class. Tennessee, meanwhile, will see a quarterback battle unfold this fall as rising redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger and App State/UCLA transfer Joey Aguilar duke it out for the vacant starting quarterback position.
But while Tennessee fans will have to wait until next offseason to see Brandon in the orange and white, the hype is only continuing to build as he shows off his skills. The 6-foot-3.5, 200-pound quarterback is ranked as the top prospect in 247’s 2026 recruiting cycle and showed off some of his talent this week at Elite 11, widely picked as one of the standout performers from the showcase. On Tuesday night, the first day of the camp, Brandon won one of the throwing challenges to start the week off strong.
5-star Tennessee commit Faizon Brandon wins the @Elite11 Rail Shot Challenge 🎯
Check out every throw on his way to victory. 5-star for a reason‼️@faizon_brandon pic.twitter.com/bjyrMQrXeG
— Billy Tucker (@TheUCReport) June 18, 2025
We won’t see Brandon compete in the Vols’ quarterback battle during training camp this fall, but he’s certainly the type of prospect that’s looking to make an impact on the roster when he does arrive alongside his fellow 2026 commits. Until then, Brandon is working hard on the recruiting trail to bolster Tennessee’s class and bring as much talent as he can this winter.
