5-Star True Freshman Faizon Brandon Named Tennessee's QB1, What to Know About Top-10 Overall Recruit

Tennessee coach Josh Heupel is naming true freshman Faizon Brandon his starting quarterback for the 2026 season, according to ESPN's Pete Thamel.

Brandon was the No. 3 quarterback in 247Sports' composite rankings for the 2026 recruiting class. He beat out George MacIntyre to earn the QB1 role the Volunteers' opener against Furman on Sept. 5.

At Grimsley High School in Greensboro, North Carolina, Brandon threw for 6,374 yards and 79 touchdowns and ran for another 1,261 yards and 21 TDs.

247Sports' Andrew Ivins scouted him last December and drew a comparison to two-time NFL Pro Bowler Geno Smith. He called Brandon an "athletic quarterback with the arm and football character to eventually be a catalyst for multiple College Football Playoff runs."

Coming out of Tennessee's second scrimmage over the weekend, Heupel liked what he saw from both Brandon and MacIntyre on the deeper throws that are an important facet of the aerial attack.

"I feel like over the course of the two scrimmages, it's been really positive," the coach told reporters. "During the course of practice, it's been extremely positive. Today we were able to hit a couple of them. All parts of it have got to be tied together, too. The route, the coverage, and then the protection piece of it, too."

Across the board, the transfer portal has given coaches an incentive to play true freshmen earlier than they would've in the past. A blue-chip recruit who isn't happy with his playing time could be out the door in a year.

In this case, MacIntyre didn't have much of an experience edge on Brandon, either. He attempted nine total passes in 2025 while sitting behind Joey Aguilar and Jake Merklinger in the depth chart.

The schedule works out nicely as Brandon can get his feet wet against Furman before a tougher test against Georgia Tech in Atlanta awaits on Sept. 12. If everything goes according to plan, he'll have three starts under his belt before the Vols open SEC play against No. 5 Texas on Sept. 26.