Why Faizon Brandon, No. 1 overall 2026 recruit and star Tennessee QB commit, is built to thrive for Vols

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Spend a few minutes with the nation’s top recruit and you quickly come away impressed by the natural ease with which he carries himself. 

Faizon Brandon is polite yet quiet, unassuming in a sense and yet well equipped to handle all the pressure and attention that come with being 247Sports’ No. 1 player in its 2026 rankings. At 6-foot-4, 200 pounds and with an arm that can throw the ball 70 yards, Brandon already looks and acts the part. 247Sports’ director of scouting Andrew Ivins says Brandon is the kind of quarterback who “can be the catalyst for multiple College Football Playoff runs.”

That would be great news for Tennessee — where Brandon has been committed to since August 2024 — as the program is coming off its first playoff appearance a season ago. It’s understandable if Tennessee fans, licking their wounds over how things worked out with their last five-star quarterback to guide a playoff run, are still holding back some excitement. Here comes another well-compensated, highly regarded QB and NIL trailblazer (more on that later). 

But Brandon isn’t Nico Iamaleava. The Tennessee quarterback commit has the perfect disposition — and a strong support system to back it up — to manage this new era of college football. 

“You would never know if he threw five touchdowns or if he just threw five straight incompletions, he’s the same on the field,” Darryl Brown, Brandon’s high school coach, told CBS Sports. “He doesn’t show a ton of emotion, he doesn’t get down when things aren’t going well. I think that makeup will benefit him. He doesn’t have to be loud and vocal; having that calm demeanor is going to help him.” 

Says Brandon, “That’s just who I am. I’m not the type to get too hype or get too low….

Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/why-faizon-brandon-no-1-overall-2026-recruit-and-star-tennessee-qb-commit-is-built-to-thrive-for-vols/

Author : John Talty

Publish date : 2025-08-22 18:39:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.