Alabama is Tennessee Vols' biggest competition for 5-star recruit that's set to commit soon

The Tennessee Vols are viewed as the favorites for 2026 five-star quarterback Faizon Brandon, but it sounds like it's not an done deal that UT will earn a commitment from the coveted recruit when he announces his college decision on August 3.

Brandon, 6-foot-4/197 lbs from Greensboro, NC, is rated by 247Sports as the No. 1 overall player in the 2026 recruiting class.

The North Carolina native has NC State, LSU, Tennessee, and Alabama as his final four schools.

It's Alabama, though, that is viewed as the biggest threat to the Vols.

"The four-star prospect has visits locked in for two of those programs this week, and is aiming to hit three total visits before moving forward with his choice as Greensboro (N.C.) Grimsley High kicks off its fall camp in early August," noted Rivals.com recruiting analyst Sam Spiegelman this week . " Rivals believes this decision will ultimately come down to Alabama or Tennessee ."

While Alabama appears to be firmly in the mix for Brandon, it would be a bit of a surprise if the five-star quarterback actually committed to the Crimson Tide over the Vols.

Tennessee was one of the first programs to make Brandon a priority. And that's something that's stuck with the talented signal caller during the recruiting process.

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

Brandon's spent plenty of time at Tennessee and he's built a solid relationship with Josh Heupel and the rest of the coaching staff. Alabama is a threat, but it's hard to see Brandon committing to the Crimson Tide when new head coach Kalen DeBoer has yet to coach at game in the SEC (we know DeBoer was great at Washington, but he hasn't proven anything in the SEC yet).

The fact that Brandon is committing in August, before DeBoer coaches a down of football at Alabama, seems to suggest that the pick will be Tennessee.

Oddly enough, this recruiting battle feels like the reverse of the Alabama/Tennessee battle for quarterback Ty Simpson in 2021 (just after Heupel was hired by the Vols).

Tennessee quickly made up some ground in the battle for Simpson (after Heupel was hired), and he seemed genuinely intrigued by the Vols, but the fact that Heupel hadn't coached a game at Tennessee yet was ultimately too much for UT to overcome.

It sounds like it's a similar situation with Brandon and Alabama in 2024. And that certainly bodes well for the Vols' chances of winning this recruiting battle next month.

Related: Josh Heupel says one characteristic of the Tennessee Vols in 2024 is so obvious that 'Ray Charles can see it'