Tennessee and Alabama are both heading into 2026 with new quarterbacks, and one college football insider thinks the Vols may have the cleaner setup for theirs.
With Joey Aguilar and Ty Simpson gone, both programs spent the offseason sorting out their quarterback battles. Now, with less than two weeks left before the season, the decisions are in: Tennessee is turning to true freshman Faizon Brandon, while Alabama is handing the offense to sophomore Keelon Russell.
Both arrived with serious recruiting buzz. 247Sports ranked Brandon as the No. 3 player in the 2026 class, while Russell came in as the No. 2 player in the 2025 cycle. And while both are walking into heavy pressure, CBS Sports’ Chip Patterson said this week that Tennessee may have built a better runway for its young quarterback.
“I think that [Faizon Brandon] is better set up than maybe Keelon Russell is,” Patterson said on CBS Sports HQ this week. “The experience that Tennessee has on the offensive line, DeSean Bishop is a dawg at the running back position and somebody coming off a very productive season. I think wide receivers, maybe I would take Alabama’s room over Tennessee’s, but the entire picture for Faizon Brandon walking into this is the idea that you can trust him to just go out there and let it rip.”
That confidence in Brandon didn’t come from one single moment. Tennessee spent the offseason watching him separate himself from sophomore George MacIntyre, and Josh Heupel said Brandon earned the job through steady growth and command of the offense.
“I don’t think there’s just one thing,” Heupel said about naming Brandon the starter. “At times people want to say, is there one focal point that changed it?
I think in all, (it was) his control, command of what we’re doing offensively, that’s in run game, the RPO game, the drop-back, play action. Combine that with fundamentals, technique, pocket awareness, you put all those things together, decision-making, taking care of the football while still allowing his playmakers to make plays down the field.
You look at the total volume of work and he’s earned the right start.”
For Tennessee, the appeal is obvious. Brandon is a true freshman, but the staff clearly believes he’s ahead of the usual curve in maturity, football IQ, and in-game awareness. He’s also got a big arm, and that part is already showing up in practice.
“Man, for a young guy, his arm is strong,” sophomore wide receiver Travis Smith Jr. said about Brandon on Tuesday. “I don’t know what - Man, even if it’s a short five-yard route, he’s going to put some fire on it. So, you know, it’s great catching passes from him.”
The Vols are also putting Brandon in a favorable spot. Tennessee brings back four of its five offensive line starters, plus several other players with experience either in Knoxville or elsewhere.
DeSean Bishop headlines a running back room that looks like one of the strongest on the roster after a thousand-yard season. Tennessee did lose deep threat Chris Brazzell to the NFL this offseason, but Mike Matthews and Braylon Staley give the passing game a pair of receivers who are expected to keep climbing.
That kind of structure matters when the starter is 18 years old. It’s still a gamble in the abstract, but Tennessee has as good a situation as just about anyone to make that move.
The next test is a big one. No.
20 Tennessee will host No. 13 Alabama in a Third Saturday rivalry game on Saturday, Oct. 17, in Neyland Stadium.
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Tennessee Just Lost A New Frontcourt Piece Before The Season
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Instead, Washington is currently unable to play because of a legal dispute involving the NCAA and a temporary injunction, and the latest court ruling only tightened the uncertainty. A Tennessee court granted an extraordinary appeal and stayed the trial court order that had allowed him to suit up, leaving his status for the upcoming season in serious doubt and stripping the Volunteers of one of their newest interior options before he ever took the floor. [Read more 🡒]