Tennessee’s quarterback situation is still the biggest storyline hanging over 2026, and the early read from one of the SEC’s most visible voices is that true freshman Faizon Brandon won’t be buried in the conference pecking order.
The Vols are heading into fall camp with an open competition that also includes second-year George MacIntyre and Colorado transfer Ryan Staub. Brandon has become the popular pick to win the job, and if that happens, Tennessee would be leaning on a rare true freshman starter in the SEC.
SEC Mike isn’t treating that as a reason to slam the brakes. In his full 2026 SEC quarterback rankings, he placed Brandon at No. 9 in the league.
That slot puts Brandon in the bottom half of the conference, but it’s still a more aggressive view than plenty of other projections have taken. A lot of observers have been hesitant to rank either Brandon or MacIntyre highly, with some placing Tennessee’s quarterback options near the bottom of the SEC.
SEC Mike’s list has Brandon ahead of Alabama’s Keelon Russell, LSU’s Sam Leavitt, Kentucky’s Kenny Minchey, Arkansas’ KJ Jackson, Florida’s Aaron Philo, Missouri’s Austin Simmons and Vanderbilt’s Jared Curtis.
The eight quarterbacks ranked above Brandon, from No. 1 down, are Texas’ Arch Manning, Ole Miss’ Trinidad Chambliss, Georgia’s Gunner Stockton, Oklahoma’s John Mateer, Texas A&M’s Marcel Reed, Mississippi State’s Kamario Taylor, South Carolina’s Lanorris Sellers and Auburn’s Byrum Brown.
For Tennessee, that ranking also spells out the gauntlet ahead. The Vols are set to line up against the No.
1, No. 5, No.
7, No. 8, No.
10, No. 11, No.
12, No. 13 and No. 16 quarterbacks in the conference.
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