ESPN’s Billy Tucker sees immediate opening for a pair of five-star quarterbacks who arrive with the kind of hype that can change a room fast.
In his rundown of the 51 freshmen best positioned to make an instant impact, Tucker singled out Vanderbilt’s Jared Curtis and Tennessee’s Faizon Brandon, two blue-chip passers who could be asked to step into major roles right away in the 2026 college football season.
Curtis may be walking into the cleanest path of the two. Vanderbilt just watched Diego Pavia put together a two-year run that turned into the greatest stretch in program history, capped by 17 total wins, the school’s first 10-win season, multiple major awards and a second-place Heisman finish. That’s a lot to replace, but Tucker thinks the Commodores may already have the answer in Curtis, the five-star true freshman who flipped from Georgia to Vanderbilt in one of the most surprising recruiting moves in recent memory.
The opportunity matters here. Curtis landed in Nashville with a real shot to win the job early, and Tucker believes that combination of talent and circumstance gives him a legitimate chance to be the next guy.
"Curtis was the top-ranked passer in 2026 and Vanderbilt's highest-rated recruit ever after he flipped from Georgia," Tucker writes.
"While he hasn't been named the starter, Curtis remains the odds-on favorite to win the job this fall. He will have to combat significant expectations, but he has the natural arm talent and comfortable situation under Clark Lea, who signed an extension in November, to flourish in Nashville."
Tennessee’s situation looks different, but just as intriguing. Brandon arrived as the centerpiece of the Volunteers’ 2026 class and stayed locked in with Josh Heupel and Tennessee for a year and a half before enrolling early in January. The path opened up after Nico Iamaleava left the program amid an NIL dispute last offseason, and Joey Aguilar was denied a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA.
That left the door wide open heading into 2026, with Brandon competing against redshirt freshman George MacIntyre for the starting job. Tucker likes Brandon’s upside in a big way.
"Brandon, the No. 14 prospect and third-ranked pocket passer in 2026, must first beat out redshirt freshman George MacIntyre for Tennessee's starting job, but his ceiling is significantly higher," Tucker writes.
"His natural arm strength is a great fit for Josh Heupel's vertical offense and could unlock another gear for Tennessee."
In Other News...
Vanderbilts Rise Just Turned Real As A New QB Era Looms
Vanderbilts revival has carried into the offseason in a way the program has not seen in years, with 2026 football season tickets already sold out after a historic 2025 run led by Diego Pavia. Pavia became the first Heisman Trophy finalist in school history and helped push the Commodores to their highest win total and national rankings in decades, a surge of interest that has clearly reshaped the mood around the program.
Now the harder part begins. Vanderbilt has to turn that momentum into something sustainable without the quarterback who drove so much of it, and the next chapter hinges on how the staff sorts out the position battle between true freshman Jared Curtis and Blaze Berlowitz. The sellout shows demand is real, but the Commodores still have to answer the most important question of all before the 2026 season ever arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Vanderbilts Rebuilt Tight End Room Has One Camp Battle To Watch
Vanderbilt has spent fall camp reshaping its tight end room after the departure of Eli Stowers, and the early stages of that makeover have been led by a blend of transfers and returners. Tight ends coach Brendan Flaherty has pointed to Jayvontay Conner as a steady presence, while also working in Maurice Veney and Walter Taylor as the Commodores try to build depth at a spot that suddenly looks much different than it did a year ago. Cole Spence remains in the mix, too, giving this position group a healthy amount of competition as the season approaches.
The intrigue now is how quickly the newcomers can settle in once the pads stay on and the rotation starts to matter. Conner has given Vanderbilt a reliable baseline, Veney is adjusting to a bigger stage after his path up from Division II, and Taylor is still developing into a true tight end after beginning his college career elsewhere. For a team that needs production from the position, the battle for snaps in this rebuilt room feels like one of the more important camp storylines to watch. [Read more 🡒]