Tennessee Vols receive a positive sign in battle for elite 2026 5-star recruit

The Tennessee Vols are less than two weeks away from learning if they'll win the recruiting battle for 2026 five-star quarterback Faizon Brandon.

Brandon, 6-foot-4/195 lbs from Greensboro, NC, is rated by 247Sports as the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2026 recruiting class. He's scheduled to announce his commitment on August 3.

Alabama, LSU, NC State, and Tennessee are the four programs that are still in the mix to land the elite quarterback recruit.

Ahead of his decision on August 3, Brandon has just one visit scheduled. According to 247Sports , Brandon, as of last Friday (July 19), will visit Tennessee on July 27/28. He could decide to fit in some other visits before he announces his commitment, but for now it's just the Vols that are getting a visit in late July.

That seemingly bodes well for the Vols' chances of winning this recruiting battle on August 3. Tennessee has long been viewed as the favorite for Brandon, in part because of how early the Vols' coaching staff started recruiting him.

"They are a school that recruited me pretty early, for a very long time," said Brandon to 247Sports of his interest in Tennessee. "I hadn't done much in high school, so I think them offering me then showed a lot about them."

It doesn't hurt that former Vols quarterback Hendon Hooker is also from Greensboro. Hooker and Brandon have built a solid relationship together, too.

“(Hendon Hooker) said keep working, never stop working," said Brandon to 247Sports last summer . "And he’s said a lot of good things to the (Tennessee) coaches about me. … His dad has told me that they treat him well (at Tennessee), and he said the move from Virginia Tech to there really felt like home, like, a much better home there.”

If the Vols land Brandon on August 3, it would give Tennessee an elite quarterback commit for the fourth straight recruiting class (Nico Iamaleava in 2023, Jake Merklinger in 2024, and George MacIntyre in 2025).

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