Tennessee football had just won its season opener and new starting quarterback, freshman Faizon Brandon, was greeting his parents in the north end zone of Neyland Stadium. Wide receiver Braylon Staley was right next to Brandon, endorsing the five-star freshman.
"This is the man right here," Staley said.
UT coach Josh Heupel was also pleased with Brandon's debut, but not surprised by anything he saw.
“I don't think he did anything that surprised me," Heupel said after the 56-9 win over Furman on Sept. 5. "We're just … trusting that what you've seen on the field through the body of work is going to show up on gameday too. But for a young player, he managed and stayed within himself extremely well, which is the expectation.”
Brandon dazzled in his
first college start, throwing for 226 yards and three touchdowns and adding 68 yards and two more scores on the ground over less than three quarters of work.
Some nerves would be expected from the youngest player to ever start at quarterback for the Vols, but Heupel praised how Brandon managed his emotions and the game.
“He managed what we were doing, the purpose of what we were trying to accomplish extremely well," Heupel said. "Communication part was really solid and decision making was really good. Extended some plays with his feet, took care of the football. It was a lot of positives from him.”
Brandon became the first SEC player to throw for three touchdowns and rush for two more touchdowns in his first career start since Auburn's Cam Newton in 2010.
The Vols will have to be conscious of how Brandon runs. Some of his 10 rushing attempts involved diving right into the teeth of the Furman defense, but Heupel doesn't want to limit one of Brandon's best assets.
“When you have a quarterback that can do that ... you have the ability to play 11-on-11 at times and so you're applying pressure to defenses in a different way," Heupel said. "Structurally, you're going to see different things, too.”
Heupel still sees plenty for Brandon and the Vols to work on, but he was satisfied with how the 18 year old handled his first assignment.
"Quarterbacks played smart and efficient today, all of them did," Heupel said. "So it's a good start, lot to learn from and move on to a big one next week.”
Stephen Thompson covers Tennessee Volunteers men's basketball. Email him at stephen.thompson@knoxnews.com and follow him on X @stephenethom.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: What Josh Heupel said about QB Faizon Brandon's first start for Tennessee football
