Faizon Brandon

QB · Tennessee · Fr. · #11

6′4″ · 225 lb · Greensboro, NC · Grimsley

He is a true freshman with 5 games on the stat sheet.

via utsports.com ↗

Tennessee is 3-1 in the four games he threw 10 or more passes. A mobile passer.

Weakest: sacked on 13% of dropbacks, 4th worst of 145 starters.

Plays most like Heavner, Miami (OH).

Hasn’t thrown since Auburn, week 5. Tennessee has played two games since.

Passing yards

697

61 of 101, 60%

TD–INT

7–1

6.9 per throw

NCAA rating

139.3

ZPR

not ranked yet

How ZPR works

Shaky or worse in 3 of 4.

Worst night: 145 yards against Texas, a loss.
No interceptions all season, in four games.

Best: Furman. Worst: Texas, sacked 9 times.

Tap a game for its plays

Q1Q2Q3Q4

Furman

W 56–9·FCS

Solid

Passing grade only · Carried by the third quarter · 226 yds, 3 TD, 0 INT · Rush 9 for 76, 2 TD · Sacked 1

No single play moved his team's chance of winning by more than a few points.

Full game page

at Georgia Tech

W 45–24·Unranked

Shaky

148 yds, 2 TD, 0 INT · Rush 4 for 23 · Sacked 1

Biggest swing: his Q1 incompletion cost his team 25 points of win chance. It flipped the game against his team: 58% to 34%.

Full game page

Kennesaw State

W 42–9·Unranked

Shaky

178 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT · Rush 9 for 55, 1 TD · Sacked 1

Biggest swing: his Q1 completion added 8 points of win chance. Win chance: 59% to 67%.

Full game page

Texas

L 17–20·Ranked #1

Rough

Passing grade only · Steady all game · 145 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT · Rush 13 for 75 · Sacked 9

Biggest swing: his Q4 run added 37 points of win chance. Win chance: 8% to 45%.

Full game page

Auburn

W 24–14·Unranked

Few throws

0 yds, 0 TD, 1 INT · Rush 1 for 7 · Sacked 2

Biggest swing: his Q2 interception cost his team 12 points of win chance. Win chance: 73% to 61%.

Full game page

Season

Quarter by quarter

Each column is a quarter. Blue and up is a good stretch for him, red and down a bad one, hatched means the game was already decided. A red cross is a turnover and a black dot a touchdown. The word on the right grades the whole game; on games where he ran a lot it grades his passing only. A gold line means the r/CFB game thread kept naming him. Tap a game to open its plays: each bar is one of his plays, up helped his team’s chance of winning and down hurt it, and the grey line is that chance.

How to read this

The word grades the game against every FBS quarterback start, from Rough to Great, using the same throws as his season Zeitgeist Passer Rating and adjusting for the defense he faced. Bars are points added per throw in that quarter. The Season row leaves out quarters after a game was decided.

How he plays

Mobile passer

Why this word

Runs6.4 a gameRarelyA lot

Throws8.3 yards past the lineShortDeep

Completes58%FewerMore

Takes sacks13% of dropbacksRarelyOften

The dot is where he sits among this season’s starters; the tick is the middle.

Throws at a middling depth and runs some. 6.4 carries a game. Closest matches: Heavner, Kelly ’25, Lewis ’25, Reed.

Where his throws go

Behind the line18%typical 21%

Short57%typical 43%

Middle13%typical 22%

Deep12%typical 14%

Runs 6.4 times a game; 75% of starters run less.

Who he is like

Nearer to him means more alike.

Heavner Miami (OH) · Mobile passer
394 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT so far. Both take sacks and are less efficient.
Kelly ’25 Ball State 2025 · Run-first
1,560 yards, 10 TD, 8 INT. Both hit few big plays and are less efficient.
Lewis ’25 Colorado 2025 · Balanced
589 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT. Both miss more and take sacks.
Reed Texas A&M · Balanced
1,225 yards, 7 TD, 6 INT so far. Both hit few big plays and miss more.

Compared with the 145 FBS starters this season for his throws and running, and with 207 quarterbacks across 2 seasons for the matches, on how they play and how they have done.

This week

RecordTennessee is 6-1, No. 11 in the AP poll (week 8).
What fans say
Over the last few games, Tennessee fans have been down on Brandon's decision making.
“Faizon Brandon is 3/8 for 0 yards and 1 INT with a QBR of 12.5.”
“We gave them free points. Bench Brandon”
“I think Texas knocked the idea out of Brandon’s head that he’s a QB”
From r/CFB game thread. Read by AI.
Heisman raceNo. 18 in the betting market. The race, week by week
Next gamevs Kentucky · Sat Nov 7

What’s being said about him

98 stories in the last 30 days, from 19 outlets.

Stories about him per day. W and L: his team’s results.

Tennessee QB George MacIntyre replaces Faizon Brandon vs Auburn

Knoxville News Sentinel +5 Oct 3

All 328 stories this season

His biggest play this season

Q4, 1:22 · Tennessee down 10Faizon Brandon finds Mike Matthews for a 30-yard touchdownTexas at Tennessee, week 4Q4, 1:22 · Tennessee 17, Texas 20Tennessee cut the deficit to 3 in the fourth quarterTennessee cut the deficit to 3 in the fourth quarterF.Brandon pass complete deep right to M.Matthews caught at TEXAS00, for 30 yards to the TEXAS00 touchdown, 1ST DOWN, kick goodWatch from this play

All 9 of his plays on video

Faizon Brandon

QB · Tennessee · Fr · #11

Filling the Shoesas of 2026-10-24

Faizon Brandon steps into Joey Aguilar's shoes — the gap is the story.

697PASS YDS7PASS TD139RUSH YDS

PASSING VALUE · WEPA

+0.13

via your WEPA model · 2026 · 84 plays

Read the story so far

Faizon Brandon arrived as a 5-star prospect, the No.10 recruit nationally. He lines up at QB for Tennessee.

On the field, the headline is 697 pass yds, with 7 pass td.

He inherited the QB job from Joey Aguilar (3-star).

The number to watch: +0.13 — passing value · wepa.

QB successionleap of faith

Inherited fromJoey Aguilar 3★

AI-generated narrative · may contain errors · not journalism · updated 2026-10-24

How he plays

Play style

Extends plays with his feet until something opens up.

Players he’s like

Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.

Cole McDonaldHawai'i · 2018 · 70% season match
Eric DungeySyracuse · 2015 · 69% season match
A.J. ErdelyUAB · 2017 · 67% season match
Justice HansenArkansas State · 2016 · 66% season match
Tyler StewartNevada · 2015 · 66% season match

Career stats

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Season	Team
2026	Tennessee	61	101	60.4%	697	6.9	7	1	139.3	24
Career		61	101	60.4%	697	6.9	7	1	139.3	24

Season	Team
2026	Tennessee	53	130	2.5	3
Career		53	130	2.5	3

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2026 season · 5 games

Box score · CFBD

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Wk	Opp	CMP/ATT	YDS	TD	INT	YPA	QBR	Note
Wk 1	W 56-9vs Furman	13/17	226	3	0	13.3	—	Season-high 226 yds
Wk 2	W 45-24@ Georgia Tech	10/21	148	2	0	7.0	88.7
Wk 3	W 42-9vs Kennesaw State	18/26	178	1	0	6.8	46.4
Wk 4	L 17-20vs No. 1 Texas	17/29	145	1	0	5.0	55.8
Wk 5	W 24-14vs Auburn	3/8	0	0	1	0.0	0.1
Total		61/101	697	7	1	6.9	—

Game by game

W 24-14 vs AuburnOct. 30 yds3 of 8, 1 INTBox score only

3 of 8 for 0 yards and an interception.

Not drawn: the play-by-play doesn’t add up to the box score.

L 17-20 vs TexasSept. 26145 yds17 of 29, 1 TD5 yds an attempt, tied for 111th in FBS

17 of 29 for 145 yards and a touchdown.

Not drawn: the play-by-play doesn’t add up to the box score.

3 more games, with the play by play

W 42-9 vs Kennesaw StateSept. 19178 yds18 of 26, 1 TD6.8 yds an attempt, 78th in FBS

Play by playOn the field

18 of 26 for 178 yards and a touchdown. He was 1 of 6 on third and fourth down.

7 of 9 of his drives scored
1 of 6 on 3rd and 4th down
sacked once
9 runs for 55 yds

First quarterbegan tied 0-0
TD3 of 4, 50 yds12
TD3 of 4, 35 yds
Second quarterbegan up 15-3
FG2 of 4, 9 yds
Punt2 of 3, 22 yds
Fumble1 of 2, 8 yds
FG1 of 2, 8 yds
Third quarterbegan up 21-3
TD2 of 2, 8 yds
TD2 of 2, 23 yds
Fourth quarterbegan up 35-3
TD2 of 3, 15 yds
FinalW 42-9

a drive that ended in a touchdown or a field goala drive he didn’t playa completion, by its yardshis runincompleteinterceptedsacked, by the yards lost

completea touchdownincompleteinterceptedhis runsacked

1
35-yard completion to Braylon Staley. First quarter, tied 0-0.
2
3-yard completion to Mike Matthews on 3rd and 6. First quarter, tied 0-0.

102030405035

leftmiddlerightno spot

a completionincompleteinterceptedsacked, below the line

Each pass sits where it was caught or thrown to, in yards past the line. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.

W 45-24 at Georgia TechSept. 12148 yds10 of 21, 2 TD7 yds an attempt, 77th in FBS

Play by playOn the field

10 of 21 for 148 yards and 2 touchdowns. He was 4 of 8 on third and fourth down.

5 of 9 of his drives scored
4 of 8 on 3rd and 4th down
sacked once
4 runs for 23 yds

First quarterbegan tied 0-0
TD1 of 1, 25 yds
TD0 of 2, 0 yds1
FG2 of 4, 46 yds234
Second quarterbegan down 10-7
Punt1 of 4, 15 yds
TD1 of 3, 20 yds
Half0 of 1, 0 yds
Third quarterbegan up 24-10
TD1 of 1, 8 yds
Punt3 of 4, 22 yds
Fourth quarterbegan up 31-17
Punt1 of 1, 12 yds
FinalW 45-24

a drive that ended in a touchdown or a field goala drive he didn’t playa completion, by its yardshis runincompleteinterceptedsacked, by the yards lost

completea touchdownincompleteinterceptedhis runsacked

1
Incomplete to Braylon Staley on 3rd and 11. First quarter, up 7-3.
2
45-yard completion to Radarious Jackson on 3rd and 12. First quarter, down 10-7. Converted.
3
3-yard run on 4th and 2. First quarter, down 10-7. Converted.
4
Incomplete to Javin Gordon on 3rd and 13. Second quarter, down 10-7. Broken up by Georgia Tech’s K. Hill.

102030405045

leftmiddlerightno spot

a completionincompleteinterceptedsacked, below the line

Each pass sits where it was caught or thrown to, in yards past the line. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.

W 56-9 vs FurmanSept. 5226 yds13 of 17, 3 TD13.3 yds an attempt, 6th in FBS

Play by playOn the field

13 of 17 for 226 yards and 3 touchdowns; 13.3 yards an attempt, 6th-best in FBS that week. Tennessee scored touchdowns on 6 of the 8 drives he played.

6 of 8 of his drives scored
4 of 5 on 3rd and 4th down
sacked once
9 runs for 76 yds

First quarterbegan tied 0-0
TD4 of 5, 43 yds1
Downs2 of 3, 10 yds2
Punt1 of 1, 5 yds3
Second quarterbegan up 7-0
TD—
TD3 of 3, 38 yds
TD0 of 2, 0 yds
Third quarterbegan up 28-0
TD2 of 2, 73 yds
TD1 of 1, 57 yds4
FinalW 56-9

a drive that ended in a touchdown or a field goala drive he didn’t playa completion, by its yardshis runincompleteinterceptedsacked, by the yards lost

completea touchdownincompleteinterceptedhis runsacked

1
6-yard completion to Trent Thomas on 3rd and 4. First quarter, tied 0-0. Converted.
2
Incomplete to Mike Matthews on 4th and 3. First quarter, up 7-0. Turnover on downs.
3
5-yard completion to Braylon Staley on 3rd and 4. First quarter, up 7-0. Converted.
4
57-yard touchdown pass to Mike Matthews. Third quarter, made it 42-0.

10203040505557

leftmiddlerightno spot

a completionincompleteinterceptedsacked, below the line

Each pass sits where it was caught or thrown to, in yards past the line. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.

Signature game

Week 1 · 2026

W 56-9

vs Furman

226 yds · 3 TD · 0 INT · 68 rush yds (10 car) · 2 TD

Dominant 47-point win at home against Furman.

With M. Matthews — 4 rec · 132 yds · 2 TD · J. Baker — 89 rush yds (3 car) · 1 TD

Signature plays

The plays that mattered most

Week 1 · Furman · 2nd and 5 · Q3 · EPA +4.84Brandon to Matthews: a 57-yard touchdown pass.
Week 5 · Auburn · 1st and 10 · Q2 · EPA −4.63F.Brandon pass intercepted by X.Atkins at TENN20 X.Atkins return 1 yard, out of bounds at TENN19
Week 2 · Georgia Tech · 3rd and 12 · Q1 · EPA +4.34F.Brandon pass complete deep left to R.Jackson caught at GT 38, for 45 yards to the GT 32, out of bounds at GT 32
Week 1 · Furman · 1st and 10 · Q3 · EPA +4.28Brandon to Matthews: a 55-yard touchdown pass.
Week 4 · Texas · 4th and 3 · Q4 · EPA −4.15F.Brandon sacked for loss of 1 yard (A.January), TURNOVER ON DOWNS
Week 4 · Texas · 3rd and 12 · Q4 · EPA +3.04F.Brandon rush right for 16 yards gain (B.Mascoe)

4 more plays

Week 1 · Furman · 2nd and 11 · Q1 · EPA +2.97Brandon to Davis: a 17-yard touchdown pass.
Week 3 · Kennesaw State · 1st and 10 · Q1 · EPA +2.89Brandon to Staley: a 35-yard pass.
Week 3 · Kennesaw State · 2nd and 10 · Q1 · EPA +2.84Brandon to Staley: a 13-yard touchdown pass.
Week 1 · Furman · 3rd and 6 · Q2 · EPA +2.82F.Brandon rush left for 6 yards gain for a touchdown

Where he ranks

Pass yards697134thAmong 144 quarterbacks with 80 or more attempts

Pass TDs7tied for 89thAmong 144 quarterbacks with 80 or more attempts

Yards / att6.9tied for 103rdAmong 144 quarterbacks with 80 or more attempts

Completion %60.4%102ndAmong 144 quarterbacks with 80 or more attempts

Interceptions1tied for 10thAmong 144 quarterbacks with 80 or more attempts

Rush yards13057thAmong 144 quarterbacks with 80 or more attempts

Rush TDs3tied for 30thAmong 144 quarterbacks with 80 or more attempts

Fumbles lost1tied for 25thAmong 125 quarterbacks with 80 or more attempts

131st in passing yards, among all 434 FBS players with a passing row this season, any position

Who he played, by opponent strength

Ratings of the games shown run from -11 to +21 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).

Passing profile

Pass Profile · True throw depth (charted plays)

Adjusted ANY/A, sack rate, and where the yards came from

61/101 (60.4%) · 7 TD · 1 INT

101 of 101 attempts matched to play-by-play

101 of 101 attempts charted for true throw depth

Adjusted ANY/A

6.21109 of 170 QBs

Sack rate

12.2%164 of 170 QBs

Sacked on 12.2% of dropbacks (164 of 170) and Adjusted ANY/A trails the field (109 of 170).

Adjusted ANY/A uses full-season box-score totals (attempts, yards, TDs, INTs); sack rate is play-by-play-derived.

Behind LOS · Negative air yds

17% of attempts (17)

82%comp

Air -2.9 · YAC 9.1 avg

Short · 0–9 air yds

56% of attempts (57)

65%comp1 INT

Air 4.9 · YAC 3.8 avg

Middle · 10–19 air yds

13% of attempts (13)

38%comp

Air 14.4 · YAC 7.6 avg

Deep · 20+ air yds

14% of attempts (14)

36%comp

Air 35.6 · YAC 8.8 avg

Overall 60.4% completion on 101 attempts · 36% completion on 14 deep attempts (20+ air yds).

Teams and coaches

2026Tennessee6-1HC: Josh Heupel · Run-heavy

Our ratings

CFB Zeitgeist Score 41 (#95 of 147). Show the ratings

Where this profile ranks vs the QB cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles

41Rotational starter #95 of 147 · through 5 games?

13 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: interceptions (89th percentile). Concern: sack rate (3rd percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

Interception rate#31 / 141 · 78th pct

1.0%

Explosive rate#113 / 141 · 20th pct

7.9%

Success rate#122 / 141 · 14th pct

36.5%

EPA / dropback#123 / 141 · 13th pct

-0.00

Sack rate#137 / 141 · 3rd pct

12.2%

Box-score rates (8)

Interceptions#10 / 144 · 89th pct

Rush TDs#30 / 144 · 74th pct

Rush yards#57 / 144 · 61st pct

130

Fumbles lost#25 / 125 · 59th pct

Pass TDs#89 / 144 · 33rd pct

Completion %#102 / 144 · 30th pct

60.4%

Yards / att#103 / 144 · 28th pct

6.9

Pass yards#134 / 144 · 7th pct

697

Season trend

EPA / dropback— first qualifying season

Success rate— first qualifying season

Explosive rate— first qualifying season

Sack rate— first qualifying season

Interception rate— first qualifying season

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).

Zeitgeist Passer Rating

2026 · our own passing-efficiency number, shown next to the 1979 formula it does not replace.

Thin sample: 111 dropbacks

24Zeitgeist Passer Ratingnot ranked until 125 dropbacks

NCAA passer rating no box-score line yet

Positive-play rate weight 24%

37.5%3th pct of FBS QBs

share of dropbacks that gained expected points · -1.2% schedule adj.

Yards per attempt weight 56%

6.4315th pct of FBS QBs

sacks excluded · -0.3 schedule adj.

Sack rate weight 21% (penalty)

12.8%0th pct of FBS QBs

the input passer rating cannot see · +0.2% schedule adj.

Opponent-adjusted; garbage time excluded (4 of 115 dropbacks dropped). 50 = FBS average; the number is pulled toward 50 when the sample is thin. How ZPR is built.

Splits

Home and road splits, scheme and staff

Splits · Per-game

2026 season · 5 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	YDS/g	TD/g	YPA	INT/g
Home4g	137	1.2	6.3	0.2
Road1g	148	2.0	7.0	0.0

First half vs Second half

	YDS/g	TD/g	YPA	INT/g
Weeks 1-75g	139	1.4	6.4	0.2

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Josh Heupel

Pass share

38.4%

184 pass / 295 run

Plays / game

68.4

7 games

Scheme: Run-heavy.

Awards

Player standing · 2026

101 pass attempts and 53 carries in 5 games

Fewer passes and runs a game than most FBS quarterbacks who play every week.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score

41 · #95 of 147 QBs · through 5 games

Former five-star. Now #95 at the position.

Heisman trajectory

Heisman futures · sportsbook market

#18 in market · 1 books

+50000.9% implied

Our Heisman model · 2026 · week 8

#111

Weeks outside our model's top 25 sit on the baseline.

Peak #13 · week 1

Avg #71.4

Finalist chance under 1%

Peaked at #13 in week 1; #111 as of week 8.

Our model's rank, not the betting market's.

Faizon Brandon

How he plays

This week

What’s being said about him

His biggest play this season

How he plays

Players he’s like

Career stats

Game log

Game by game

Signature game

Signature plays

Where he ranks

Passing profile

Teams and coaches

Our ratings

Splits

Awards

101 pass attempts and 53 carries in 5 games

Heisman trajectory

#111

In the news in the last 30 days

What they’re talking about

In the news this season

What they’re talking about

Week by week

What fans said

Latest stories

In the game threads

Where to follow him

First season at Tennessee, 5 games

His moves

2026 5 games