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Eli Lederman, ESPN Staff Writer
Four-star quarterback Faizon Brandon, the top uncommitted pocket passer in the 2026 class, gave his pledge to Tennessee on Saturday, marking a key recruiting win for Josh Heupel and the Volunteers.
Brandon, No. 32 in the ESPN Junior 300, is the fourth-ranked pocket passer in the 2026 class, per ESPN. The 6-foot-4, 195-pound quarterback from Greensboro, North Carolina, commits to Tennessee after throwing for 3,026 yards and 36 touchdowns with three interceptions last fall as a sophomore at Grimsley High School. Brandon now stands as the first member of Tennessee’s 2026 recruiting class, and leaves four-star pocket passer Ryder Lyons (No. 35 in the ESPN 300) as the last uncommitted top-10 pocket passer in the 2026 cycle.
Brandon listed Alabama, LSU and NC State among the finalists for his commitment, but told ESPN his decision was made more than a month ago. Still, Brandon took a final unofficial visit to Tennessee last weekend, shoring up his plans for the future with another trip to the campus in Knoxville, which Brandon has visited multiple times over the past 14 months.
“It pretty much answered all the questions,” Brandon said. “I had to talk to some of the players to see how they liked it. The thing that stood out to me was hearing what the players had to say about this staff and how everything is rolling there. Top down, I have good relationships with the people there.”
Brandon’s commitment closes a recruiting process that began with Tennessee in the spring of 2023.
The Volunteers handed Brandon his first official Power 4 offer in June of 2023 after he attended a Tennessee camp ahead of his sophomore season. Brandon visited the program at least seven more times before sealing his commitment on Saturday, forging a particularly strong connections with Heupel and offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Joey Halzle along the way.
“For them to be recruiting me for such a long time was such a big piece in everything,” Brandon said. “Building those connections is one of the things that have made them stand out. All the relationships there, that’s what made it the place for me.”
Brandon will return for his junior season at Grimsley this fall after leading the program to the state 4A quarterfinals in his first season as a starter in 2023. At the next level, his potential leans on a combination of pocket passer size and arm strength and rushing ability on the ground that make Brandon one of the top quarterback prospects in a talented 2026 class.
If the Volunteers ultimately sign Brandon, and ink 2025 quarterback commit George MacIntrye later this year, Tennessee will mark four straight cycles with a top-10 quarterback signee after failing to land a top-10 passer in six consecutive cycles from 2017-22. Nico Iamaleava, the program’s top signee in the 2023 class, is set to take over starting duties this fall, while 2024 signee Jake Merklinger (No. 8 pocket passer in 2024) will factor into the program’s quarterback depth in Heupel’s fourth season.
Brandon noted Tennessee’s quarterback momentum and the success of past Volunteers passers Hendon Hooker and Joe Milton in Heupel’s offense among the pulls in his commitment.
“The development piece and me seeing that is really something that stood out to me,” Brandon said. “They know how to coach quarterbacks.”
Tennessee’s 2025 class is trending upward with four-star safety Lagonza Hayward Jr. and outside linebacker Christian Gass among the recent additions to the nation’s 12th-ranked recruiting class, per ESPN rankings. With Brandon’s pledge, Heupel and Co. are off to a big start in 2026.