Faizon Brandon may or may not win the starting quarterback job to begin the 2026 college football season for Tennessee. Either way, his newly-listed height and weight makes his teammates look tiny.
Physical traits are not going to be an issue for the true freshman signal-caller.
The Volunteers recently updated their college football roster prior to the start of a fall camp. It is clear that Brandon has been working hard during the offseason!
Who is going to be the starting quarterback at Tennessee?
We do not yet know the answer to this question. The Volunteers were expecting incumbent starting quarterback Joey Aguilar to return for another season before he was ruled ineligible by both the NCAA and a local judge.
That leaves George MacIntyre and Faizon Brandon.
MacIntyre, a redshirt freshman, rated as a consensus four-star prospect out of Brentwood Academy in the recruiting Class of 2025. He was the eighth-ranked player at his position and one of the top 100 players in the country. The Nashville-native threw for 8,293 yards with 62 touchdowns in 36 games throughout his high school career. The Eagles won the Division II-AA state championship during his sophomore season and finished as the state runner-up during his junior season.
Although MacIntyre initially appeared to be the heir to Aguilar’s throne, he will need to win the job during fall camp (and likely the first few weeks of the regular season). He and Brandon, a true freshman, are engaged in a quarterback battle.
Brandon was the No. 3-ranked player in the recruiting Class of 2026 behind two other five-star quarterbacks. The North Carolina-native went 35-1 as the starter at Grimsley High School with back-to-back state championships. As a dual-threat quarterback, he completed more than 72% of his passes for 6,374 yards and 74 touchdowns while rushing for 1,261 yards and 21 touchdowns.
Tennessee 5🌟 QB Faizon Brandon is so back.
— Rocky Top Now (@rockytopnow) November 15, 2025
First play = Touchdown pic.twitter.com/9QKBwt6nCX
Tennessee begins the season with Furman, Georgia Tech and Kennesaw State. I don’t know how head coach Josh Heupel feels about the Yellow Jackets but I would not be surprised if the Volunteers play Brandon and MacIntyre during the first three weeks of the season. Both guys will likely get a shot against Furman. A starter will be in place by Week 4 against Texas.
Faizon Brandon is bigger than a lot of linebackers.
Tennessee gave George MacIntyre a weight goal for the start of fall camp. The 6-foot-6 quarterback weighed 190 pounds in high school. He played last year closer to 195. The coaching staff wanted him to tip the scale at 210 for his second season.
He got close but not quite. The Volunteers recently updated their roster for 2026 and MacIntyre is listed at 208 pounds.
Faizon Brandon, an 18-year-old true freshman, already has him beat. He is listed at 6-foot-4, 225 pounds. That’s a big dude. Especially at quarterback
To put his weight into perspective, lets compare him to other players on the roster.
Brandon weighs more than sophomore linebacker Jadon Perlotte at the same height. He also weighs the same as third-year linebacker Edwin Spillman and two pounds less than senior linebacker Amare Campbell with an inch or two on them both.
All of this goes to say that Tennessee essentially has a linebacker playing quarterback. Brandon is a freakish athlete with a frame that is not typical for most players at his position — especially considering that he only graduated high school two months ago.
Only time will tell whether the five-star freshman can win the job outright but his dual-threat capabilities, monster frame and cannon arm are a great fit for Heupel’s system. The future is bright in Knoxville.