Tennessee freshman Faizon Brandon has spent the first two weeks of the season outplaying a lot of the SEC quarterback buzz. While plenty of attention has gone to names like LSU’s Sam Leavitt, Mississippi State’s Kamario Taylor, Texas’ Arch Manning, and others, Brandon is the one sitting at the top of the conference in quarterback rating.
Brandon’s 90.4 QBR leads the SEC right now, just ahead of Missouri’s Austin Simmons at 89.7. State’s Kamario Taylor checks in at 88.7, followed by Texas’ Manning at 86.9. At the other end of the list, Arkansas’ KJ Jackson is at 33.8 and Vanderbilt’s Blaze Berlowitz is last at 16.8.
ESPN describes adjusted QBR as a metric that “values the quarterback on all play types on a 0-100 scale adjusted for the strength of opposing defenses faced.” The network does not disclose the exact formula behind it.
For Tennessee, though, the number is only part of the story. Brandon has helped the Vols open the year with a blowout of Furman in Week 1 and a win at Georgia Tech in Week 2.
Through those two games, he has thrown for 374 yards, five touchdowns, and no interceptions, while completing 60.5% of his passes. He has also run 90 carries and scored two rushing touchdowns.
His play in the win over Georgia Tech didn’t leap off the page in the box score. Brandon finished 10-of-21 for 148 yards and two touchdowns. Still, Tennessee coach Josh Heupel came away impressed with how the freshman handled the moment.
“The stat sheet is not going to be elite,” Heupel said about Brandon. “I actually really like the way he played the game.
I thought he was composed, he handled himself in situational football pretty well. First game on the road, 18 years old, handled himself well, took care of (the ball).
Scrambled, made some plays. There’s a couple things that he’s going to learn from and get better from, but all in all, really good.
He had a great look, demeanor. He’s been consistent in that way.”
David Sanders Jr. said Brandon never lost his footing when the momentum shifted early against the Yellow Jackets. “He never flinched,” Tennessee’s David Sanders Jr. told reporters on Tuesday, describing Brandon’s reaction to a turn of momentum in the first quarter against GT last Saturday.
“As a freshman, he wasn’t making bad decisions, wasn’t just throwing the ball to whoever. He was going through his reads, trusting the process, communicating with the O-Line.
His voice was demanding in the huddle, and we could hear him even throughout the crowd noise. I felt like that was very good, because I know for me, that was a different experience as a freshman.
But he’s doing a phenomenal job.”
Brandon has already been named SEC Freshman of the Week after both of Tennessee’s first two games, and he continues to give the 15th-ranked Vols steady play at quarterback. There is still room for growth, but he has done exactly what Tennessee needs through two starts.
The Vols are back in action Saturday night against Kennesaw State before hosting No. 1 Texas the following weekend in Neyland Stadium.
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Faizon Brandon Gets A Massive Tennessee Test Sooner Than Anyone Expected
The SEC opener in Knoxville arrives with a little more intrigue than Tennessee probably expected this early, and it starts with the spotlight on Faizon Brandon. The true freshman has stepped into the biggest job on the field for a Volunteers team that is already 2-0, and now he gets a noon kickoff on ABC in Neyland Stadium against Texas, another undefeated team with its own freshman quarterback story line in Arch Manning.
September 26 will be Brandons first real crash course in what SEC life looks like when the stakes and the stage both jump at once. Tennessee does not have the luxury of easing him into the league schedule, and Texas brings the kind of early test that can expose young quarterbacks quickly, especially in a matchup that will set the tone for both teams before the rest of the conference slate really takes hold. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessee Defense Has The Talent But One Issue Still Lingers
There is plenty to like about Tennessees defense on paper, and Amare Campbell sounded like a player who can see the ceiling as clearly as anyone in the room. The linebacker pointed to the groups talent, leadership and edge, while also crediting Arion Carter for bringing energy and helping set the tone. He also noted how the Volunteers have leaned into a four-linebacker package and how much internal competition has sharpened that room.
Still, Campbells bigger point was that the Vols have to clean up the details before the talent really starts showing up on Saturdays. He emphasized consistent execution, better technique and fewer penalties, and said the challenge has been carrying practice intensity into game action. It is the kind of issue Tennessee can live with in August, but one that becomes a lot harder to ignore once the season starts to settle in. [Read more 🡒]
One Hall Of Fame Voter Sees Tennessee Very Differently Right Now
Tennessees early-season win over Georgia Tech helped the Volunteers land at No. 14 in the latest FWAA-NFF Super 16 Poll, a weekly ranking that comes from FWAA writers and College Football Hall of Fame inductees. Released after Week 2 of the 2026 college football season, the poll offers another snapshot of how the sports insiders are sizing up the first stretch of the year, and Tennessee has clearly made an impression.
The ranking also gives the Vols a familiar measuring-stick moment, because the group at the top remains Texas at No. 1. For Tennessee, the bigger question now is whether that early recognition turns into something more lasting as the season settles in, with the poll serving as one more sign that the win over Georgia Tech may have mattered beyond the scoreboard. [Read more 🡒]