Five-star freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon has been stealing headlines since arriving to Rocky Top during the winter as an early enrollee. The North Carolina native was the Vols’ top-ranked prospect in the 2026 recruiting cycle and made a quick impression during Tennessee’s spring camp workouts last month.
Brandon, 6-foot-4, 195 pounds, is entrenched in a quarterback battle for the Vols’ starting signal caller position alongside redshirt-freshman George MacIntyre and Colorado transfer Ryan Staub. And while Josh Heupel didn’t get remotely close to any sort of indication as to who was leading the battle heading into the summer, reports around the college football world have suggested that Brandon’s time could come sooner than later.
ESPN writer Billy Tucker went through several college football topics on Thursday, including the 10 freshman names to know in the sport entering the season. Third on his list? Tennessee quarterback Faizon Brandon.
“There’s no guarantee that Brandon, the No. 14 prospect and third-ranked pocket passer in 2026, beats out George MacIntyre for Tennessee’s starting job,” Tucker writes. “But Brandon’s immense ceiling is undeniable, and his big arm is a great fit for a Josh Heupel offense that wants to beat teams over the top. His physical traits are reminiscent of Hendon Hooker.”
Brandon’s build was one of the first things that jumped off the page during spring workouts. While there was very limited time to see him make meaningful throws on the field, there’s no doubt that Brandon had already surpassed the “look” of an average freshman in their first spring on campus. He also showed off some nice athleticism during the Orange & White Game last month.
More From RTI: Where Tennessee’s Incoming, Outgoing Players Land in 247Sports’ Final Transfer Portal Rankings
Heupel was adamant during the spring that he had no intention to name a starting quarterback this early in the process, instead opting to give his players the chance to soak in feedback over the summer and resume the competition during the fall.
Former Tennessee wide receiver and current Knoxville radio host Jayson Swain isn’t proclaiming Brandon as the Vols’ future starter quite yet, but he was impressed with what he saw over the course of the spring.
“Nobody is going to admit that one has the lead over the other, but from my time seeing a quarterback competition, it’s not tied all the time… Somebody has a lead based on the last practice or last season of the offseason,” Swain said on The Sports Animal. “That was spring, Faizon was better. That doesn’t mean that Faizon is going to be the starter; that just means he has the lead right now.
“George has to have a really good summer to catch back up. It’s possible for him to do that, but that’s what he has to do. But Faizon has the lead right now, and I’m not letting anybody tell me otherwise. I believe my eyes. Folks saw what they saw during the Orange and White Game, too.”
Other SEC freshmen on ESPN’s list include LSU DL Deuce Geralds, Alabama RB Ezavier Crowell, Texas WR Jermaine Bishop Jr., Vanderbilt QB Jared Curtis, and Georgia WR Kaiden Prothro.
Brandon enters as a five-star recruit and the No. 2 overall player in the class, via 247. Josh Heupel has not started a true frshman at quarterback in his Tennessee tenure yet, but did give the keys to a freshman Dillon Gabriel during his time at UCF.
The Vols open the season on Sept. 5 against Furman at home. Then, things get a bit tougher with a road trip to play Georgia Tech the following Saturday.
