Earlier this week, Rivals released its new 2026 rankings for the first time after being acquired by On3. In those rankings, Tennessee football commit Faizon Brandon clocked in as a four-star and just the No. 33 player in the class.
On Wednesday, 247 chimed in with its updated rankings. According to them, Brandon remains the No. 1 overall prospect in the country and a five-star recruit.
This past year as a junior, Brandon led Grimsley High School to a 16-0 record and 4A state title. Due to his play, he was named Gatorade and MaxPreps Player of the Year in North Carolina. He completed 77.1% of his passes for 2,814 yards with 35 touchdowns and just two interceptions. He also ran for nine scores.
Brandon has been committed to Tennessee since August 3, 2024. Since then, he has only taken visits to Knoxville, including an official visit on June 13. In total, he has been to UT at least five times since committing.
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Gabriel Osenda also holds onto his five-star status in the rankings refresh. The premier offensive tackle is the No. 19 player in the country and No. 4 at his position. Other big-time UT targets still on the board include LSU wide receiver commit Tristen Keys at No. 4, interior offensive lineman Darius Gray at No. 16 and running back Savion Hiter at No. 17.
As Tennessee’s third-highest-rated commit, linebacker Brayden Rouse comes in at No. 70. He remains the No. 4 linebacker in the cycle. Fellow linebacker TJ White is right behind him at No. 89 as the No. 5 backer in the class.
The next highest-rated commits are defensive tackle Dereon Albert at No. 189 and in-state athlete Zay Anderson at No. 225, who makes a massive leap as a former three-star. The only other four-star is edge rusher Zach Groves. Three-stars include notable names such as wide receiver Tyreek King, offensive lineman J.B. Shabazz, wide receiver Legend Bey and tight end Carson Sneed.
This puts Tennessee as the No. 9 class in the cycle, according to 247. This is good for sixth in the SEC behind Texas A&M, Alabama, Georgia, Texas and LSU.
