Starting as a true freshman is rare in college football. There’s a reason for that, too.
For as good as many of the elite recruits in the country are, there’s a huge difference in level of play from high school ball to college.
Also, keep in mind, college football has essentially become the NFL’s minor league. There will be guys playing in 2026 who were literally in NFL training camps.
Coming in at 18 years old and starting from the jump is a tall order. It’s even more daunting if you’re a quarterback.
And yet, for the Tennessee Volunteers, true freshman Faizon Brandon made the most sense for head coach Josh Heupel and his staff as they evaluated the quarterback battle between the former five-star and second-year quarterback George MacIntyre.
Brandon was reportedly named Tennessee’s starting quarterback on Monday.
Faizon Brandon has potential to be elite for Tennessee Volunteers
Brandon, from Greensboro, North Carolina, was the 2024 North Carolina Gatorade Football Player of the Year, and ESPN’s Eli Lederman reports that his dynamic upside and playmaking ability led the Volunteers to trust him.
As a three-year starter for Grimsley High School, Brandon threw for 6,956 yards and 82 touchdowns while going 35-1 and winning two state championships.
He was an elite prospect, without a doubt, and he very well could be an elite college quarterback.
The beauty of it for Tennessee, though, is that not everything is going to be on the freshman quarterback’s shoulders.
Behind him at running back will be senior DeSean Bishop, who rushed for 1,076 yards and 16 touchdowns last season for the Vols while starting all 13 games.
Tennessee is returning wideout Braylon Staley, who caught 68 passes for 837 yards and six touchdowns last season and was named the SEC freshman of the year. Mike Matthews also came back for his junior season after catching 53 passes for 813 yards and four touchdowns.
Brandon will have to step up and live up to the big moments, especially in SEC play, but Tennessee has plenty of weapons around him who should make his job at quarterback easier.
That’s not even to mention the fact that his head coach, Heupel, is considered one of the best offensive-minded coaches in college football.
Brandon will have his work cut out for him, but he also has a ton going in his favor as he enters 2026 as Tennessee’s starter.
