Tennessee’s offense is handing the keys to a true freshman, but De’Rail Sims came away from offseason work convinced Faizon Brandon is ready for the job.
Sims, the Vols’ running backs coach, doesn’t spend every practice rep glued to the quarterbacks. Even so, he’s seen enough in drills and scrimmages to form a clear opinion on what Tennessee has in Brandon heading into the season.
“I think he’s done a really good job,” Sims said about Brandon. “Mature.
Always in the building and always in that quarterback room in terms of watching tape and learning. Been impressed with him in terms of the way he carries himself.
Seeing him come in in January, to where he is now, is night and day. So I’m excited to be able to go out here and watch him play on Saturday.”
That confidence matters because Brandon won’t have to do this alone. Tennessee’s backfield gives him a real cushion, with returning thousand-yard runner DeSean Bishop leading a group that also includes former Tulane back Javin Gordon, Daune Morris and Justin Baker.
The Vols also expect plenty from the offensive line, and Josh Heupel said that combination is a big reason he feels good about the room overall. On Monday’s episode of The Mike Keith Show, Heupel pointed to the experience up front and the way the backs have handled camp.
“I do,” Josh Heupel said on Monday’s episode of The Mike Keith Show, when asked if he feels good about the Vols’ RB room. “Starts with the offensive line, a lot of experience there.
Guys that don’t have as much experience, a year under their belts, starting for us, have played extremely well. It continues to get better.
There’s great competition. We have some depth there.
And then our running back room, I’ve said it during the course of training camp, all of those guys have competed at a really high level.
“They’re doing a great job with the ball in their hands, pressing the right aiming points, delivering blocks to the second level, and then escaping to the grass. They’ve played with really good pad level, finishing their runs, and they’ve played really well with the ball not in their hands. Pass protection is absolutely critical when you have a young quarterback, and those guys have done a great job with their responsibilities.”
For Sims, that last part is the key. He wants his backs focused on keeping the quarterback protected and clean, and he said the group made real progress in that area over the offseason.
“I thought we took a step in the right direction,” Sims said on Tuesday about pass protection. “We were consistent every day from that standpoint in terms of taking the football, running with it, playing without the ball in our hands and pass protection.
Understanding that we have to keep our quarterbacks upright the whole entire time. Not allowing the pocket to get pushed on us.
So I thought we did a really good job of taking that next step holistically in terms of taking care of the ball, that’s including running with it as well.”
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Charles Kippy Browns death at 71 closes the book on a remarkable football life that touched Tennessee from multiple angles. Before he became a respected assistant in Knoxville, Brown had already broken ground as the first Black quarterback at Sweetwater High School and the University of Memphis, then built a coaching rsum that stretched from college sidelines to a 22-season NFL career, including a Super Bowl title with the Seattle Seahawks.
For Tennessee, Brown was the kind of figure whose influence spanned eras, serving as an assistant under three different head coaches and even stepping in briefly as interim head coach. His path also took him to the XFL, where he coached the Memphis Maniax, another stop in a career defined by adaptability and staying power. The Volunteers are mourning not just a former staff member, but a trailblazer who helped shape the game at multiple levels. [Read more 🡒]
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The other notable subplot is on the defensive side, where senior linebacker Arion Carter will miss the first game after the NCAA reduced his suspension from two games to one. Even with Furman on the other side of the field, Tennessee will use the opener to get a first look at Brandon under center while also managing a front-seven absence that changes the early-season picture just enough to make Week 1 worth watching closely. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessee Just Crossed A Uniform Line Fans Will Debate
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The patch is set to appear starting in the 2026 season, giving Vols fans plenty of time to get used to the idea of a sponsor sitting on the uniform. For a program that has long sold itself on tradition and pageantry, this is the kind of change that will invite debate as much as it does revenue, especially with the deal stretching a full decade and reaching so many corners of the athletic department. [Read more 🡒]