Faizon Brandon QB1

[WillisWG]

Brandon and Hooker have a lot of similarities, as one of the cooler parts of this comparison is that the two quarterbacks are both from the state of North Carolina. In fact, both quarterbacks have trained around each other with Hendon's father, Alan Hooker, having the opportunity to train Brandon. There have also been reports that Hendon has given advice to the newest Vols quarterback, which is just one more thing to know about the connection between the two.

On the field, it is safe to say that there is a part of Hooker's game in Brandon. One of the best traits about Brandon is his ability to learn from the mistakes that he makes, as he is someone who is very coachable, and is someone who has the chance to right his wrongs after one time of seeing something on film. Hooker only got better over time, which is something fans can expect to see from the young quarterback as well.

The two quarterbacks have also shown their ability to control an offense, as well as move out of the pocket, which is something the Vols will be getting at an elite level with Brandon.

Tennessee Football Freshman Faizon Brandon Receives Comparison to Vols Legend

Tennessee has a massive quarterback battle on its hands, as it is a three-man race between George MacIntyre, Ryan Staub, and Faizon Brandon. While everyone has

www.si.com

 

[MDsweetT]

We're looking at a year where Auburn might have a better QB than UT despite where Auburn has been the last few years vs where UT has been.

I get it that Golesh is a hot commodity and his QB wanted to stay with him but just think about the absolute dumpster fire Auburn has been and they have an upperclassman QB who is getting attention.

Yes, we might get to the playoffs with our young QB just managing the offense Heupel runs and Knowles running a stronger defense.

We have an exciting, not unlearnable, QB numbers friendly offense as Joey A proved last year. UT should be a destination for QBs given Heupel's offense and guys he had going to the league...... but something seems to be keeping that from happening.

Remember when Lincoln Riley was at OU and they had Baker, Kyler, Jalen, Spencer Rattler, Caleb Williams at QB? All 5 were drafted with 3 being the #1 overall pick. And they won zero playoff games and had consistently the worst defenses in the Big 12.

Now since Caleb left USC, LR has had Miller Moss and Jayden Maiava…why isn’t Riley drawing the same QB prospects

College is cyclical. And ultimately, you want to have an experienced, talented roster with a great QB to push over the to championship contention.

Last year’s offense with Joey A was 10 in the country but our defense was bottom 30 in the country.

Every year is different. I think we might actually have more potential than 24’ defensively with Knowles at the helm.

And obviously we all want UT to win a but now more than ever, the playing field is even and it’s extremely hard to separate from the pack unless you have a “complete” team.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

Remember when Lincoln Riley was at OU and they had Baker, Kyler, Jalen, Spencer Rattler, Caleb Williams at QB? All 5 were drafted with 3 being the #1 overall pick. And they won zero playoff games and had consistently the worst defenses in the Big 12.

Now since Caleb left USC, LR has had Miller Moss and Jayden Maiava…why isn’t Riley drawing the same QB prospects

College is cyclical. And ultimately, you want to have an experienced, talented roster with a great QB to push over the to championship contention.

Last year’s offense with Joey A was 10 in the country but our defense was bottom 30 in the country.

Every year is different. I think we might actually have more potential than 24’ defensively with Knowles at the helm.

And obviously we all want UT to win a but now more than ever, the playing field is even and it’s extremely hard to separate from the pack unless you have a “complete” team.

Baker transferred in
Kyler transferred in
Jalen transferred in
because $$$ and OU was a destination because of their successful and exciting offense.

UT is a successful and exciting offense for QBs since Coach Heupel got to Knoxville but we're still not a transfer destination for high level QBs.

Isn't that curious?

 

[Swiftybaby]

Baker transferred in
Kyler transferred in
Jalen transferred in
because $$$ and OU was a destination because of their successful and exciting offense.

UT is a successful and exciting offense for QBs since Coach Heupel got to Knoxville but we're still not a transfer destination for high level QBs.

Isn't that curious?

You’re really going all out with this take aren’t you

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

You’re really going all out with this take aren’t you

Well, doesn't UT have a QB friendly exciting offense that gets QBs into the league since Heupel got here?

If so, why aren't we a transfer destination for high level QBs?

Is that hard to follow?

 

[MDsweetT]

Baker transferred in
Kyler transferred in
Jalen transferred in
because $$$ and OU was a destination because of their successful and exciting offense.

UT is a successful and exciting offense for QBs since Coach Heupel got to Knoxville but we're still not a transfer destination for high level QBs.

Isn't that curious?

Offense wins games, but having a complete team wins championships. Only one team won a national championship the last 15-20 without a 25 defense and that was Cam’s Auburn team.

And while it is curious, the fact that those QBs mostly went first round in the draft, the best drafted QB we’ve had so far is HH in round 3.

Our offense is still viewed as “gimmicky”. That’s why we need a proof of concept QB (Faizon/GMac) to both win awards/be a high draft pick.

I don’t think it’s a issue. And not to say Heupel is immune to making mistakes. But we’ve gotta trust the process in this day and age of development.

It took Tom Osborne 17 years to win a national championship. If he was coaching in this day and age, he’d have gotten maybe 1/2 of that time to win before he got the

All perspective in that it’s really hard to win and Heupel has raised the floor of this program but we shall see if he’s hit a ceiling in the next 2-3 years

 

[Swiftybaby]

Well, doesn't UT have a QB friendly exciting offense that gets QBs into the league since Heupel got here?

If so, why aren't we a transfer destination for high level QBs?

Is that hard to follow?

It just seems you’re trying to create the narrative that heupel can’t develop a qb

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

Offense wins games, but having a complete team wins championships. Only one team won a national championship the last 15-20 without a 25 defense and that was Cam’s Auburn team.

And while it is curious, the fact that those QBs mostly went first round in the draft, the best drafted QB we’ve had so far is HH in round 3.

Our offense is still viewed as “gimmicky”. That’s why we need a proof of concept QB (Faizon/GMac) to both win awards/be a high draft pick.

I don’t think it’s a issue. And not to say Heupel is immune to making mistakes. But we’ve gotta trust the process in this day and age of development.

It took Tom Osborne 17 years to win a national championship. If he was coaching in this day and age, he’d have gotten maybe 1/2 of that time to win before he got the

All perspective in that it’s really hard to win and Heupel has raised the floor of this program but we shall see if he’s hit a ceiling in the next 2-3 years

I'll agree that defense wins championships and I'm encouraged that Knowles was hired. With Heupel and Knowles running things, we've got our best chance to win it all since the 90s.

Unlike you, I think it's money. I think UT was quick out of the gate with NIL money but I believe the TX schools and the B1G schools have upped their game via their rich donors and huge alumni base.

With NIL money bringing more parity, a school needs donors and fans that are willing to indulge a long game approach that isn't necessarily going to bring hardware often.

If we're going to take the position, as many do on VN, that Heupel needs to bring hardware in 7 or 8 years or he's got to go, we're going to need to a big pot of money to be promised to secure an elite coach who can recruit both HS and the portal.

I don't think we're going to go the LSU route of promising a "big splash" coach a massive NIL and massive buyout. I also don't think we'd be able to keep a coach like Cignetti, also massively expensive after winning only one Natty at IU, because we lack a Mark Cuban style donor who understands the financial aspects of sports "ownership."

To get that elite, almost sure to bring home a trophy coach, what's the plan then?

What I see is the wilderness of coaching searches every 7 years hoping to ferret out that "coaching unknown" (arguably the next Cignetti) which is a guessing game which in my opinion is similar to buying scratch offs..... in other words, the dumbest form of gambling imaginable.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

It just seems you’re trying to create the narrative that heupel can’t develop a qb

I'm looking at his track record of developing YOUNG QBs vs OLDER QBs.

That's especially pertinent this year since we've got a RS FR and true FR with no other development than Josh Heupel as their coach.

The last starting QB we had with that resume was Nico and his development wasn't up to his highly touted and highly paid expectation (and it's not all Heupel's fault that he and his family were trouble..... though he recruited the kid.)

Heupel DID develop 3 older QBs VERY successfully. That's not where we are this year so yeah...... his ability to develop young QBs matters.

 

[Swiftybaby]

I'm looking at his track record of developing YOUNG QBs vs OLDER QBs.

That's especially pertinent this year since we've got a RS FR and true FR with no other development than Josh Heupel as their coach.

The last starting QB we had with that resume was Nico and his development wasn't up to his highly touted and highly paid expectation (and it's not all Heupel's fault that he and his family were trouble..... though he recruited the kid.)

Heupel DID develop 3 older QBs VERY successfully. That's not where we are this year so yeah...... his ability to develop young QBs matters.

Made the playoff

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

Made the playoff

Not on Nico's back, certainly, but yes. I think the general consensus was the D carried that team and that Nico's play was average and nowhere near his hype nor his pricetag.

You're welcome to say otherwise, of course.

 

[KnoxToTheBoro93]

I am not in the "all is lost" camp but I'm wondering why UT isn't more of a destination for QBs at this point. It's year 6 for Heupel and he's extended for a decent run so it's a stable program.

Our WR room is good, our RB room is very solid, our O Line is pretty solid, and our offense can be as dynamic as any in college football.

We should have upperclassmen QBs with decent resumes wanting to be here and especially some guys like Hooker or Milton looking for a "new start."

I'm concerned it's the Benjamins we're lacking.

Not lacking just not unlimited… by a lot of accounts we were really close to getting leavitt and lsu paid him an absurd amount at the last minute.. Joey A not getting another year really hurt too and the process was long and probably hindered some Qbs from committing not knowing for sure if Joey was back or not… regardless we are not in a bad spot… could be better and could be a lot worse… I’d find it hard to find 10 rosters better than ours not including the Qb position… the issue is the Qb spot is the most important… we will have some growing pains but this should set us up to go on a run for years..

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

Not lacking just not unlimited… by a lot of accounts we were really close to getting leavitt and lsu paid him an absurd amount at the last minute.. Joey A not getting another year really hurt too and the process was long and probably hindered some Qbs from committing not knowing for sure if Joey was back or not… regardless we are not in a bad spot… could be better and could be a lot worse… I’d find it hard to find 10 rosters better than ours not including the Qb position… the issue is the Qb spot is the most important… we will have some growing pains but this should set us up to go on a run for years..

A really "top shelf" QB wouldn't have been worried about Joey A coming back. Do you seriously think Leavitt or the longshot Ty Simpson worried about competing with Joey A for QB1?

Leavitt was also on his way to FL to interview. He had options beyond LSU and UT and was going to get paid no matter what. I agree Kiffin swooped in to seal the deal and probably overpaid but he COULD overpay and that's the name of the game now if you want to be elite.

I'm not in the "all is lost this season" camp but I think the landscape of competing will get much more expensive unless the NCAA wins against Nebraska to rein in NIL but an NCAA victory may make our Adidas fueled NIL deals iffy.

In the end, as with all of life, being rich helps a lot. I'm not sure UT is that rich for the long haul.

 

[MDsweetT]

I'll agree that defense wins championships and I'm encouraged that Knowles was hired. With Heupel and Knowles running things, we've got our best chance to win it all since the 90s.

Unlike you, I think it's money. I think UT was quick out of the gate with NIL money but I believe the TX schools and the B1G schools have upped their game via their rich donors and huge alumni base.

With NIL money bringing more parity, a school needs donors and fans that are willing to indulge a long game approach that isn't necessarily going to bring hardware often.

If we're going to take the position, as many do on VN, that Heupel needs to bring hardware in 7 or 8 years or he's got to go, we're going to need to a big pot of money to be promised to secure an elite coach who can recruit both HS and the portal.

I don't think we're going to go the LSU route of promising a "big splash" coach a massive NIL and massive buyout. I also don't think we'd be able to keep a coach like Cignetti, also massively expensive after winning only one Natty at IU, because we lack a Mark Cuban style donor who understands the financial aspects of sports "ownership."

To get that elite, almost sure to bring home a trophy coach, what's the plan then?

What I see is the wilderness of coaching searches every 7 years hoping to ferret out that "coaching unknown" (arguably the next Cignetti) which is a guessing game which in my opinion is similar to buying scratch offs..... in other words, the dumbest form of gambling imaginable.

The reason I push back on the issue is Tennessee had a 7 class for 2026 and I’m sure the players were compensated. Do we have the largest NiL? No. Do I think Tennessee has to be judicious about how to divvy up funds for portal/high school? Yes.

There’s a lot of positive happening with the program despite the results from last year. But Heupel didn’t stand idly by. He made changes where they needed to be made.

I know the QB situation is still the unknown but every year brings about its own surprises and letdowns. I’m excited for the season.

I love our strength coach, I think Knowles will have this defense playing with their hair on just need to get some consistency from the QB position.

 

[KnoxToTheBoro93]

A really "top shelf" QB wouldn't have been worried about Joey A coming back. Do you seriously think Leavitt or the longshot Ty Simpson worried about competing with Joey A for QB1?

Leavitt was also on his way to FL to interview. He had options beyond LSU and UT and was going to get paid no matter what. I agree Kiffin swooped in to seal the deal and probably overpaid but he COULD overpay and that's the name of the game now if you want to be elite.

I'm not in the "all is lost this season" camp but I think the landscape of competing will get much more expensive unless the NCAA wins against Nebraska to rein in NIL but an NCAA victory may make our Adidas fueled NIL deals iffy.

In the end, as with all of life, being rich helps a lot. I'm not sure UT is that rich for the long haul.

To answer your questions yes I think Qbs were worried about Joey.. why risk it when it’s other options that you can get equal or more money and not have to compete with the sec leader in passing yards who would almost be the guaranteed starter over anybody in the country if he came back… I like the strategy we are taking with the roster I think we are built to be sustainable in an unprecedented era of college football… but also Brandon could be one of those few Qbs that come around and is good from the jump… we have millions tied up in Qbs already… I’m not sure if we lack money or not but I think our Qb portal recruiting was more complicated than us not having the money..

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

To answer your questions yes I think Qbs were worried about Joey.. why risk it when it’s other options that you can get equal or more money and not have to compete with the sec leader in passing yards who would almost be the guaranteed starter over anybody in the country if he came back… I like the strategy we are taking with the roster I think we are built to be sustainable in an unprecedented era of college football… but also Brandon could be one of those few Qbs that come around and is good from the jump… we have millions tied up in Qbs already… I’m not sure if we lack money or not but I think our Qb portal recruiting was more complicated than us not having the money..

I respect what Joey A did at UT but let's be reasonable, he was a UDFA at the next level and Simpson was a first round pick.

It was a huge longshot that we could've persuaded Simpson to forgo the draft but I believe Heupel at least tried and I'm certain Joey A was the least of Simpson's concern about returning.

It's a similar story with Leavitt. He's expected to be one of the top QBs in the next draft. I'm just asking for a reasonable assessment of where Joey A stands as a QB and not trying to be harsh. He did great, way better than expected, and deserves respect for what he accomplished at UT but he wasn't a concern for a top level QB if they'd wanted to come Knoxville.

Faizon may be amazing and that would be a great feather in Heupel's cap and helluva good time to watch or G-Mac may respond to the competition and ball out this year which would be wonderful also.

It's just rare, especially these days, for younger players to excel. The trend in all positions is like we saw with Vandy...... old guys who transfer in and are already seasoned.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

The reason I push back on the issue is Tennessee had a 7 class for 2026 and I’m sure the players were compensated. Do we have the largest NiL? No. Do I think Tennessee has to be judicious about how to divvy up funds for portal/high school? Yes.

There’s a lot of positive happening with the program despite the results from last year. But Heupel didn’t stand idly by. He made changes where they needed to be made.

I know the QB situation is still the unknown but every year brings about its own surprises and letdowns. I’m excited for the season.

I love our strength coach, I think Knowles will have this defense playing with their hair on just need to get some consistency from the QB position.

I believe, but I'm not sure, our NIL totals are trending down vs what others are spending. It's not that we're not getting more money because I think we are but I think other programs are really waking up to what is required and simply have bigger alumni/fan bases and richer donors.

It's a "keeping up with the Joneses" situation with NIL and Tennessee simply isn't blessed with lots of billionaires as a state nor as a university.

For this year, Heupel did extremely well in replacing staff that needed replacing with high caliber guys. He did great. I'm excited for the season also if nothing more than to see what Knowles brings us. He's a huge upgrade.

I'd be way more comfortable if we weren't essentially starting SEC virgins. SEC defenses are going to try hard to rattle our freshman QB. TX will be a huge test and Golesh at AU knows a lot about the vulnerability of Heupel's philosophy. If the young guys are shaken by those early games, the rest of the SEC will smell blood in the water when we play them.

 

[MDsweetT]

I believe, but I'm not sure, our NIL totals are trending down vs what others are spending. It's not that we're not getting more money because I think we are but I think other programs are really waking up to what is required and simply have bigger alumni/fan bases and richer donors.

It's a "keeping up with the Joneses" situation with NIL and Tennessee simply isn't blessed with lots of billionaires as a state nor as a university.

For this year, Heupel did extremely well in replacing staff that needed replacing with high caliber guys. He did great. I'm excited for the season also if nothing more than to see what Knowles brings us. He's a huge upgrade.

I'd be way more comfortable if we weren't essentially starting SEC virgins. SEC defenses are going to try hard to rattle our freshman QB. TX will be a huge test and Golesh at AU knows a lot about the vulnerability of Heupel's philosophy. If the young guys are shaken by those early games, the rest of the SEC will smell blood in the water when we play them.

Oh for sure. It’s critical that whoever the QB is, they use the 2 games and @ Georgia Tech to do their best to hone in on the nuances.

Texas is a tough opener, especially for a FR or RSF to have to deal with in the SEC opener. No matter what happens after that game, we’ve gotta turn our attention to Auburn.

Can’t afford to start 0-2 in conference play.

 

[adam.vol]

Offense wins games, but having a complete team wins championships. Only one team won a national championship the last 15-20 without a 25 defense and that was Cam’s Auburn team.

Talent and creativity win games. Discipline wins championships.

I’m surprised that Nick Fairly-led defense wasn’t among the top 25. They had one offensive player and a heck of a defense. That speaks for the SEC strength of schedule in 2009.

 

[TheVolsFrog]

Not on Nico's back, certainly, but yes. I think the general consensus was the D carried that team and that Nico's play was average and nowhere near his hype nor his pricetag.

You're welcome to say otherwise, of course.

Yeah the Defense and Sampson carrying the offsense load.

Unfortunate that Defense saved Banks and gave him an extra year.

Nico definitely didn’t live up to the hype unfortunately

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

Oh for sure. It’s critical that whoever the QB is, they use the 2 games and @ Georgia Tech to do their best to hone in on the nuances.

Texas is a tough opener, especially for a FR or RSF to have to deal with in the SEC opener. No matter what happens after that game, we’ve gotta turn our attention to Auburn.

Can’t afford to start 0-2 in conference play.

For sure. People are saying GA Tech will show us things but I think we'll know from the first game about the decision making of our QB1. One expects freshman mistakes, Neyland nerves, etc but you can tell when a QB isn't processing the game at speed.

Unfortunately, we've seen it before.

We'll be in no danger of losing to Furman, as we could beat them into dust using Gen Neyland's Single Wing if we wish, but we'll see at least a glimpse of what's coming.

Let's just say I'm very hopeful our running game and defense are strong this year.

 

[GetYouSomeofThat]

Though Tennessee has had a few notable exceptions through the years when there was a competition.
QB's who did not win the job at the end of fall camp eventually turned out to be the best game performer, Ainge in 2004, Dobbs in 2015 and Hooker most recently.

So, 3 in the last 2 decades. Outliers

 

[Hairy Vols]

Our QB position this year is arguably our biggest question mark.

My question with Heupel is valid. Why aren't we getting good development from these young, highly rated HS QBs he's recruited? Is it his unwillingness to give them game experience? Is it some kind of issue with his QB analysis when he's recruiting?

He's had great luck coaching up older QBs that were essentially jumped at other schools but the younger QBs he's gotten out of HS, not so much even though we've gotten highly sought after guys.

Without high level QB play, we're not going far in the SEC, much less the playoffs. Heupel's claim to fame, as you say, is his "QB whisperer" skills and he's shown what he can do with older guys.

This year, he's going to have to show us something he hasn't since he got here: can he get a young QB ready for the SEC? So far..... Meh.

No he doesn’t have to show us that. QB is a non issue for Heupel. Our offense always finds a way to perform. Again, non issue.

 

[KnoxToTheBoro93]

I respect what Joey A did at UT but let's be reasonable, he was a UDFA at the next level and Simpson was a first round pick.

It was a huge longshot that we could've persuaded Simpson to forgo the draft but I believe Heupel at least tried and I'm certain Joey A was the least of Simpson's concern about returning.

It's a similar story with Leavitt. He's expected to be one of the top QBs in the next draft. I'm just asking for a reasonable assessment of where Joey A stands as a QB and not trying to be harsh. He did great, way better than expected, and deserves respect for what he accomplished at UT but he wasn't a concern for a top level QB if they'd wanted to come Knoxville.

Faizon may be amazing and that would be a great feather in Heupel's cap and helluva good time to watch or G-Mac may respond to the competition and ball out this year which would be wonderful also.

It's just rare, especially these days, for younger players to excel. The trend in all positions is like we saw with Vandy...... old guys who transfer in and are already seasoned.

I agree with Joey being UDFA Qb but you have to think about Joey going into year 2 of the system… there were better nfl prospects than hendon but I wouldn’t have believed no one in the country was taking his spot year 2 in heups system… plus Joey had already won the team over it would’ve been very tough to unseat him no matter the qb… but either way I do wish we would’ve signed an experienced qb but this may be the best thing long term that happened for Tennessee football… I do think faizon will be good for a freshman but that schedule is brutal for anybody let alone a freshman qb I’m hoping Faizon or g mac can surprise us but im keeping my expectations realistic.. but back to the main point I don’t think money is the issue though I could be wrong and time will tell..

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

I agree with Joey being UDFA Qb but you have to think about Joey going into year 2 of the system… there were better nfl prospects than hendon but I wouldn’t have believed no one in the country was taking his spot year 2 in heups system… plus Joey had already won the team over it would’ve been very tough to unseat him no matter the qb… but either way I do wish we would’ve signed an experienced qb but this may be the best thing long term that happened for Tennessee football… I do think faizon will be good for a freshman but that schedule is brutal for anybody let alone a freshman qb I’m hoping Faizon or g mac can surprise us but im keeping my expectations realistic.. but back to the main point I don’t think money is the issue though I could be wrong and time will tell..

Had Hooker not been injured and had another year, he was a Heisman front-runner from game 1. Surely you aren't comparing Joey A to Hooker?

If Leavitt had signed at UT, there would be no "I wonder if G-Mac or Faizon will jump him?" talk but if Joey A had come back, we'd all be wondering if G-Mac or Faizon would jump Joey A. Certainly Leavitt wouldn't have worried about Joey A as competition.