The Tennessee Volunteers’ 2025 recruiting class has been gaining a ton of steam over the last few weeks. It’s risen as high as #5 in 247 Sports’ team rankings recently.
However, Josh Heupel has been putting in work for his 2026 class, and he just landed the biggest fish that he possibly could for it.
Five-star 2026 QB Faizon Brandon from Greensboro, NC (Grimsley High School) committed to Tennessee on Saturday afternoon. Brandon chose the Volunteers over finalists LSU, Alabama, and NC State.
Brandon is the #1 overall recruit in the 2026 class per 247 Sports. On3 Sports also has Brandon as the #1 overall quarterback and 11th overall recruit.
Brandon, who made a return visit to Knoxville last month, had been trending towards the Vols for a while, as 247 Sports’ national recruiting analyst Tom Loy and a handful of other pundits projected Brandon to pick the Vols. That prediction became a reality for Heupel and Tennessee on Saturday. A lot of credit should also go to quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator Joey Halzle, who formed a strong bond with the talented QB during his recruitment process.
Brandon gives the Vols the second straight class with a top-end quarterback commitment. 4-star (formerly 5-star) QB George MacIntyre of Brentwood Academy is one of the top recruits in the 2025 class. The Vols also have four-star QB Jake Merklinger from Savannah, GA as a true freshman this fall.
With that much talent coming in behind Nico Iamaleava, there’s little doubt that the Vols are in outstanding shape at the quarterback position for several years to come.
