19d ago football Edit

WATCH: 2026 4-star QB Faizon Brandon competes at Elite 11 Atlanta regional

Dale Dowden • VolReport

Lead Football Recruiting Reporter

My name is Dale Dowden and I am the Lead Recruiting Reporter for VolReport, a Rivals.com network. My exp, 2016-2018- Sleeper Recruit, 2019- VR², and 2020-2022- Volunteer Country on Sports Illustrated.

The Elite 11 regional in Atlanta brought the talent in from all over the country ranging from Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, California and more.

A name that is on the big board for Tennessee football as a 2026 quarterback target is four-star Grimsley (N.C.) signal caller Faizon Brandon.

The mutual interest between Brandon and the Vols has been very evident and seems to be going very well for both parties. The North Carolina native performed at a high level at the camp while taking coaching.

VolReport was on sight and has more from the Elite11.

TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM

The 6-foot-4, 191-pounder has a near college ready frame now and Brandon is not even 16 years old yet. The room for physical growth is there and good quality weight will be a nice addition to the already impressive frame.

As talented as the Grimsley sophomore is, you could see during certain drills just how raw Brandon is at certain aspects. Taking reps in drills that were essentially new to the rising junior, it allowed the coaches and instructors to coach Brandon up, where that knowledge was soaked up and applied on the next rep.

The pro-style QB has a nice arm, but it was the accuracy that brought forth post-event praises and awards. Brandon was named the underclassman winner of the Panini Accuracy Challenge.

Many may evaluate Brandon and have a few critiques, but it is clear that the ceiling for this prospect is limitless. For a pro-style quarterback, Brandon was exceptionally well rolling out and hitting wide receivers on the sidelines just as effectively as sitting in the pocket and taking what the defense gives you.

Josh Heupel and the Vols have identified Brandon early on and really like what they see. The size, baseline talent, with a ceiling that has no height restrictions, I'm sure that is all appealing to a head coach who not only played quarterback in college, but played at such a high level as the year 2000 ended with Heupel being the Heisman runner-up.

VolReport was able to capture many reps on video:

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