Faizon Brandon’s first two college starts have gone about as smoothly as Tennessee could have hoped.
The freshman quarterback picked up his second straight SEC Freshman of the Week honor on Monday, extending a fast start that has already put him in the spotlight in Knoxville. Two games into the 2026 season, Brandon has helped Tennessee move to 2-0 while showing the kind of composure that has made his early run feel unusually steady.
This latest award came after Brandon made his first road start Saturday night in Atlanta and led No. 18 Tennessee to a 45-24 win over Georgia Tech at Bobby Dodd Stadium. The Vols got the result they wanted, and Brandon checked another box in the process.
He finished 10 of 21 for 148 yards with two touchdown passes and no interceptions. He also added 22 rushing yards, giving him 170 yards of total offense.
The stat line was quieter than his debut, but Tennessee didn’t need fireworks from its freshman quarterback. The Volunteers piled up 299 rushing yards, with DeSean Bishop doing plenty of the heavy lifting. Bishop ran for 147 yards and two touchdowns, giving Brandon room to operate inside the offense instead of carrying the load himself.
Brandon’s first SEC recognition followed his debut against Furman, a game that made an immediate statement. He also became Tennessee’s youngest starting quarterback and the first Vol freshman quarterback to open a season as the starter since Brent Schaeffer in 2004.
Brandon’s early stretch has been impressive, but the schedule will stiffen soon enough, including Texas coming to Knoxville in two weeks. For now, though, the freshman has made the opening chapter of his Tennessee career look awfully comfortable.
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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 🡒]