Dan Fleser
In choosing Tennessee, quarterback prospect Faizon Brandon targeted a specific attribute of the Vols’ program as if he was throwing the football to a receiver. He wasn’t distracted by UT loading up with QBs of comparable potential. He stepped into his decision on Saturday afternoon and let ’er rip.
“I’m going to Tennessee because they have a great development piece,” Brandon said. “. . . I know I can be developed.”
The 6-foot-4 junior-to-be at Grimsley High School in Greensboro, N.C., already is polished enough to be the top quarterback prospect in the recruiting class of 2026. As a sophomore, he threw for 3,026 yards and 36 touchdowns while throwing just three interceptions. He also rushed for 528 yards and nine more TDs in helping lead Grimsley to a 13-1 record.
SEC rivals Alabama and LSU, along with North Carolina State, were vying for Brandon’s commitment, along with Tennessee.
It was interesting, not to mention telling, that the post-decision analysis of Brandon’s abilities mentioned former Vols QB Hendon Hooker as a comparative. Hooker, who’s also from North Carolina, came to Tennessee as a transfer from Virginia Tech. He emerged as the starter during Coach Josh Heupel’s initial season in 2021 and bloomed like a hothouse flower. His 2022 passing statistics were eerily similar to Brandon’s numbers last season: 3,135 yards, 27 TDs (69.6 percent completion percentage) and two interceptions. Before his season ended with an ACL knee injury against South Carolina on Nov. 19, Hooker also rushed for 430 yards and five more touchdowns.
Hooker was the SEC offensive player of the year and the first Vol to finish in the top five of the Heisman Trophy voting since quarterback Peyton Manning was runner-up in 1997. Despite the knee injury, Hooker was taken in the third round of the NFL Draft by Detroit and remains on the Lions’ roster.
Joe Milton III, who was mentored by Hooker, followed as Tennessee’s starter. The transfer from Michigan, who was Tennessee’s initial starter in 2021, threw for 2,759 yards (64.5 completion percentage) and 20 TDs last season while rushing for 292 yards and six more scores. Milton was a sixth-round draft pick of New England this spring and, despite the presence of first-round pick Drake Maye, is making an impression in preseason camp.
This is the sort of assembly-line quarterback development that Brandon was referencing. For him, it was more compelling than the crowd behind center. Fellow five-star prospect Nico Iamaleava is UT’s starter. True freshman Jake Merklinger, a four-star recruit, is on the roster and four-star George McIntyre is committed to the Vols’ 2025 recruiting class.
During his media day interview last week, Iamaleava said that he benefited from the tutelage of both Hooker and Milton during his redshirt season.
“I think that was always my vision,” Iamaleava said. “Come in early, learn from a guy like Joe, learn from (Hooker) while he was still here doing the bowl (preparation). I think it was great for me, just really what I envisioned.”
Brandon apparently shares the viewpoint.
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Dan Fleser is a 1980 graduate of the University of Missouri, who has covered University of Tennessee athletics since 1988. He is a member of the Tennessee Sportswriters and the U.S. Basketball Writers Halls of Fame. He can be reached at danfleser3@gmail.com.