No. 3 QB Prospect Battling for Starting Role at Major College Football Program

After going 10–3 (6–2 SEC) and reaching the College Football Playoff in 2024, the Tennessee Volunteers entered last season ranked No. 24 in the AP Top 25 preseason poll.

Instead, the Vols finished just 8–5 overall (4–4 SEC), capped by a narrow 30–28 loss to Illinois in the Music City Bowl. It marked Tennessee’s worst record since 2021, Josh Heupel’s first season in Knoxville.

Adding to the disappointment, the program exited the year with significant uncertainty at quarterback.

Starter Joey Aguilar pursued a legal path to extend his eligibility, but after a court denied his injunction, he shifted his focus to the 2026 NFL Draft. Backup Jake Merklinger then entered the transfer portal and signed with UConn in January, further thinning the room.

That left former in-state four-star George MacIntyre, Tennessee’s third-string quarterback in 2025, as the presumed frontrunner heading into spring practice.

However, a new report from On3’s Andy Staples, which examined every power conference quarterback situation as spring practice begins, notes that 247Sports’ No. 3-ranked quarterback in the 2026 class, Faizon Brandon, is already competing for the starting job in Knoxville.

Incoming five-star quarterback Faizon Brandon. — Incoming five-star quarterback Faizon Brandon autographs a plush Smokey for a patient | Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Brandon starred at Grimsley (Greensboro, N.C.) and broke out in 2023 as a sophomore, going 13–1 as a first-year starter while leading the Whirlies to the quarterfinals of North Carolina’s 4A playoffs.

He completed 191 of 277 passes (69%) for 3,026 yards with 36 touchdowns and just three interceptions, adding 528 rushing yards and nine scores on the ground.

He followed that with an even more dominant 2024 campaign, earning North Carolina Gatorade and MaxPreps Player of the Year honors after guiding Grimsley to a perfect 16–0 record and a 4A state championship.

That season, Brandon completed 165 of 214 passes (77.1%) for 2,814 yards with 35 touchdowns and only two interceptions, while rushing for 625 yards and nine more scores at 8.0 yards per carry.

As a senior, he suffered a thumb injury in the season opener but returned in time for the playoffs, helping lead Grimsley to a North Carolina 7A state title. He was later named the “Alpha Dog” of the National Combine by 247Sports in January.

The production and postseason résumé made him one of the most coveted quarterbacks in the 2026 cycle, drawing more than two dozen scholarship offers before signing with Tennessee in December 2025.

Now listed at 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds, the dual-threat quarterback enters spring practice with a legitimate chance to win the starting job as a true freshman at Tennessee, a program seeking to reassert itself in the SEC in 2026.