By Camden Gober
From players, to coaches, to apparel brands, it felt like there were a lot of debuts being made on Saturday afternoon, but year six of the Josh Heupel era on Rocky Top started off exactly how you might expect, with a win.
Hooker, Milton, Iamaleava, Aguilar, and now true freshman phenom Faizon Brandon.
Josh Heupel has had a revolving door at quarterback throughout his tenure on Rocky Top, but the five-star signal caller may end up being one of the best he has ever coached when it is all said and done.
“I thought he managed what we were doing, the purpose of what we were trying to accomplish, extremely well,” said Heupel. “Communication part was really solid, and decision-making was really good. Extended, made some plays with his feet. Took care of the football. There were a lot of positives from him.”
Brandon seemed incredibly poised from start to finish for it to be his first ever collegiate game. His talents were put on display early and often using both his arm, as well as his legs. The young gunslinger never seemed rushed, and never forced any throws that most would expect a freshman to in their first game. Instead, Brandon just controlled the offense, took what was there, and never tried doing too much.
For a guy that was mainly labeled as a pass-first quarterback coming out of high school, Brandon was fantastic utilizing his legs. Brandon finished the day with 68 yards rushing and two touchdowns, with most of those being on called quarterback runs. There were many instances on the afternoon where the play broke down, and instead of panicking or taking a sack, Brandon would take off and get positive yardage.
“I thought he did a good job scrambling,” said Heupel. “A couple of draw plays. Situational football is going to trump how you’ve got to play at the end of the play, so I thought he did a good job today, though.”
It was a slower start through the air in the first half, but after halftime the freshman signal caller let loose, connecting on not one, but two 50-yard-plus touchdown passes to Mike Matthews. Brandon finished 13-for-17 for 226 yards and three touchdowns through the air on the day.
Josh Heupel and Joey Halzle have to be impressed with the way their quarterback controlled the game and handled himself in his first college action. Brandon finished his highly anticipated debut with an impressive five touchdowns, and most importantly, no turnovers. Obviously, there is still a lot that he can improve on, but the upside is undeniable.
Another major storyline for Tennessee heading into the 2026 season was the changing of the guard on the defensive side of the ball, specifically Jim Knowles making his debut as the Vols’ new defensive coordinator. Knowles has always been known for his unique style and complicated coverages, so the major question surrounding this new-look Vols defense was simply, what will they look like?
Well, dominating. The Tennessee defense had themselves an afternoon. Furman’s offense was held to just 221 total yards on the day and had only 10 first downs the entire game.
“I thought defensively played extremely well,” said Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel. “We don’t turn it over, it’s probably a shutout.”
The Vols’ front seven in particular really stood out. Even without senior linebacker Arion Carter not playing due to his one-game suspension, the defensive line and deep linebacker core were flying around all afternoon.
Xavier Gilliam was a huge bright spot for the Vols’ defense today as he finished the game with six tackles, five tackles for loss, and three sacks. Gilliam was one of the handful of players who transferred over from Penn State alongside most of the new defensive staff. To say his debut in a Tennessee uniform was a success would be an understatement.
“Yeah, one of the strong leaders inside the room, but it was awesome just seeing the team’s reaction,” said Heupel. “Model of consistency in how he works, prepares, competes. Same dude every day, and no surprise that he played extremely well today.”
A major question mark for the Vols entering this season was the defensive line and the lacking depth at that position. Having a guy like Gilliam play to the level at which he is capable this season would go a very long way for this Tennessee defense.
One thing I was looking for heading into today was who was going to emerge as the true wide receiver three for this Tennessee offense. Braylon Staley and Mike Matthews are solidified returning starters from a year ago, and with the loss of Chris Brazzell II to the NFL, who was going to step up as the third running mate?
Mike Matthews proved his worth with his performance, finishing with a game-high 132 receiving yards and two touchdowns on four catches.
Sophomore receivers Radarious Jackson and Travis Smith Jr. both showed flashes throughout their first season on Rocky Top a year ago, and both are in position to take a huge second-year leap in the Josh Heupel offense.
Radarious Jackson was the first guy out as the wide receiver three-spot, but outside of one drive where he totaled three catches for 38 yards, he did not show up a whole lot today. Travis Smith Jr. also got a ton of action today, however he finished with just two catches for 22 yards.
Jackson and Smith Jr. were the obvious two to step into that last wide receiver role, however five star true freshman wideout TK Keys has thrown his name in the hat as well after an impressive spring and fall camp.
Keys did not play as many snaps as the other two; however, his 22-yard touchdown reception from George Macintyre in the third quarter really turned heads.
One thing all of these standouts have in common, they are all young. All three of these guys will show why they deserve to be that guy in the rotation as the season goes on, but as of now that should be a concern for Tennessee’s offense moving forward until a guy truly steps up.
Tennessee showed flashes of what they are capable of this afternoon against Furman, but next Saturday night in Atlanta, when the Vols take on Georgia Tech under the lights in Bobby-Dodd Stadium, is going to be a completely different animal for this young team.