Faizon Brandon is the most talented candidate in Tennessee’s quarterback competition, but he’s the youngest of the bunch.
Inhaling and mastering as much of the offense as possible before fall camp starts would certainly give the five-star freshman the best opportunity of topping redshirt freshman George MacIntyre and Colorado transfer Ryan Staub as the next signal-caller of the Volunteers, and Brandon doesn’t plan on coming up short in that area.
“Learning the offense hasn’t been hard,” Brandon said during his first spring in Knoxville. “With the tools they give us, you can study on your own. They’re on iPads, so you can look over everything, and it just makes it easier if you study on your own and do your part.
“We had to do that in high school. Our coach would give us the installs on Sunday, and we had the whole week before Friday to learn the new plays, so it’s kind of similar.”
All three quarterbacks performed April 11 before an announced crowd of 48,000 at the Orange & White spring game inside Neyland Stadium. MacIntyre worked mostly with the first-team unit and Brandon with the second team, while Staub got most of his action with the third team.
After the glorified scrimmage, sixth-year Vols coach Josh Heupel discussed the quarterbacks and what he wants from them in this stretch linking spring’s end to the start of August workouts.
“Each of them has to be on their journey of building and mastering their fundamentals, their technique, ownership and the scheme,” Heupel said. “That’s in what we do, and then there is mastering what’s happening on the other side of the football, too.”
At 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, Brandon certainly is the most physically imposing of the three. MacIntyre is a very lanky 6-6 and 201 pounds, having put on more than 20 pounds since graduating from Brentwood Academy, while Staub is the smallest at 6-1 and 200.
Brandon is also the most heralded after compiling a 35-1 record with two state championships at Grimsley High School in Greensboro, North Carolina. He totaled 6,374 passing yards and 79 aerial touchdowns while completing more than 79% of his attempts, and he also rushed for 1,261 yards and 21 scores.
“My skill set fits this offense really well,” Brandon said. “I feel like I’m a good pocket passer, and we have some quarterback runs. I feel like I can run pretty well and can do what we need to do, and if the play breaks down, I can use my legs.
“The main thing with me is the lower body and making sure I’m always on my toes and that I’m ready to throw the ball at any moment.”
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Tennessee is no stranger to successful starting quarterbacks straight out of high school should Brandon earn the top spot, with Peyton Manning (1994), Casey Clausen (2000) and Erik Ainge (2004) having extended the winning ways of Phillip Fulmer’s Vols a generation ago.
Yet this has proven to be a different era, where the age gap between the oldest and youngest Southeastern Conference quarterbacks can be quite massive. Brandon turned 18 last month, so he is a toddler compared to Trinidad Chambliss of Ole Miss, who will be 24 during the season, and the slew of 22-year-olds that include Georgia’s Gunner Stockton, Texas A&M’s Marcel Reed, Oklahoma’s John Mateer and Arch Manning of Texas.
LSU’s Sam Leavitt will be 22 in December, while South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers is 21, but Brandon doesn’t believe his youth will be a detriment.
“I’m surrounded by guys who did well last year,” Brandon said. “We have a lot of guys coming back. Playing against our defense has made us a lot better and has made me better. It’s gotten me more used to being on an SEC level.”
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.