Faizon Brandon admitted he spent the first month of his Tennessee football career in uncertainty. Having finally joined the Vols in January more than 17 months after committing to them in August 2024 ahead of his junior season at Grimsley High School, the five-star quarterback was unsure of what his freshman season would look like. For a few weeks in January and February, a return looked on the cards for 2025 Tennessee starter Joey Aguilar, which would leave Brandon battling second-year quarterback George MacIntyre for the backup job.
But when Aguilar’s legal bid for an extra season of eligibility was denied, Brandon quickly realized the opportunity in front of him in the months ahead and began his push for the starting quarterback job.
“I would really say after the whole Joey thing,” Brandon said at Tennessee’s preseason media day. “I didn’t really know what was going to happen. I was planning on coming here and working hard regardless, but after I’d seen that he didn’t get his extra year, like I would say it just made me want to work even more harder, knowing that it’s like a quarterback battle now.”
Six months later, Brandon is the winner of that battle.
Tennessee named him its starting quarterback on Monday, making him the first true freshman quarterback to start a season opener for the Vols since 2004.
Here’s how he did it:
