If you’re a Tennessee fan, buckle up for this fall. Your savior might be on the way.
You don’t have to listen very closely to hear the buzz surrounding true freshman quarterback and early enrollee Faizon Brandon — and that buzz is mostly centered around the fact he could very well be the starter for the Volunteers when they host Furman in their season opener on September 5.
Brandon, 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, was a 5-star recruit and the nation’s No. 3 overall prospect in the Class of 2026, according to 247Sports, and is already being projected as a 1st-round pick in the NFL draft.
Brandon is also a winner — he went 35-1 as a starter at Grimsley High School in Greensboro, North Carolina, and won 2 state championships.
Lawsuit Led to Reported $1.2 Million NIL Deal
If you want to know exactly how good Brandon is — and how much Tennessee values having him on the roster — all you need to know is that they made him a millionaire before he even graduated from high school.
Brandon committed to Tennessee in August 2024 — before his sophomore season — and around the same time his family sued the North Carolina State Board of Education to make NIL opportunities legal for high school athletes.
Brandon’s family won the lawsuit, and he reportedly received a 2-year, $1.2 million NIL contract for his last 2 seasons of high school football.
“Brandon’s family filed a lawsuit against the North Carolina State Board of Education when it initially rejected a proposal to make NIL opportunities legal in the state,” Sports Illustrated’s Gary Adornato wrote in August 2025. “At the time, Brandon was reportedly close to a seven-figure NIL deal with a prominent national trading card company. A Wake County judge ruled in the family’s favor last fall, prompting the board to adopt temporary NIL rules for the 2023-24 school year. Brandon’s reported deal closely aligns with the $1.2 million agreement cited in the state’s new report.”
Faizon Brandon Projected as 1st Round Pick
In order to start, Brandon will need to beat out redshirt freshman George MacIntyre, who backed up starter Joey Aguilar in 2025. He may have already done that this spring, even though Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel has insisted he won’t name a starting quarterback until this fall.
“I thought George had a slight lead going into the spring, just because he’s been in the system for a year,” VolQuest’s Austin Price said in April on 104.5-FM The Zone’s Ramon and Will. “I think that lead is gone. I think it’s pretty even here as we exit spring, and it’ll be a highly contested battle going into fall camp.”
One of the top names in college football recruiting, 247Sports Director of Scouting Andrew Ivins, already has projected Brandon as a 1st-round pick.
Brandon would 1st be eligible for the NFL draft in 2029.
“Athletic quarterback with the arm and football character to eventually be a catalyst for multiple College Football Playoff runs,” Ivins wrote. “Far from a complete product as he starts college well before his 18th birthday, but has the tools and drive to light up scoreboards on Saturdays and then Sundays if it all clicks.”
Tennessee Predicted to Start True Freshman QB & Projected 1st Round Pick