By Camden Gober
ATLANTA, Ga. — For a true freshman quarterback who was untested, unproven and making his first career road start, Faizon Brandon proved that he belonged.
The poise, confidence and ability to work through his progressions are unlike anything normal from a freshman quarterback in college football, much less one playing at the highest level.
Brandon’s numbers were nothing extraordinary, but the poise he showed managing the game in his first road start as a true freshman was impressive. The young signal-caller finished the night 10 of 21 for 148 yards and two touchdowns through the air, while adding 22 yards on five carries.
“The stat sheet is not going to be elite. I actually really like the way he played the game,” said Josh Heupel. “I thought he was composed; he handled himself in situational football pretty well. First game on the road, 18 years old, handled himself well, took care of (the ball).”
Most importantly, especially considering how young and inexperienced he actually is, Brandon finished the game without a turnover. Now with two games under his belt, one at home and one on the road, his ability to keep the ball out of harm’s way is what stands out most.
That’s just not normal for an 18-year-old quarterback. Brandon has allowed the game to come to him without ever feeling the pressure to force something that isn’t there.
“I just try not to force anything. Nothing good really happens when you start forcing,” said Brandon. “So just try to let the game come to me and whenever the plays are there, just make the plays. Not trying to do anything spectacular, just let the game come to me.”
In these tough early-season tests, coaches are looking to see what their teams are truly made of. Most of the time, these matchups provide the first real taste of adversity and give coaches their first opportunity to see exactly what kind of team they have.
For Heupel, he found out exactly what kind of player he had in Brandon after the team had their backs backed up against the wall for the first time in this young season.
Tennessee’s second drive of the game was anything but pretty, as the offense went three-and-out for the first time tonight. Immediately following the disappointing possession, Jackson Ross’ punt was blocked and returned for a Georgia Tech touchdown, completely flipping the momentum of the game.
So there you are. Trailing for the first time all season. On the road for the first time. The crowd on its feet and roaring.
A true freshman quarterback being tossed into a moment like that for the first time. Backed up deep in his own territory.
The million-dollar question: How will he respond?
For starters, the true freshman did not respond like a true freshman typically does. Brandon simply rallied his guys, marched the offense down the field and tied the game right back up.
One play really stood out, though. After back-to-back unsuccessful plays, Tennessee was in danger of feeding even more into Georgia Tech’s momentum with another three-and-out. On third-and-12, Brandon stood tall and confident in the pocket before delivering a picture-perfect ball down the left sideline to Radarious Jackson for a huge 45-yard gain to keep the drive alive.
The Tennessee offense did not finish the drive the way it would have liked, but Brandon did enough to put the Vols in field goal range and ultimately tie things up.
That moment summed up the true freshman’s first career road start. If Tennessee had gone three-and-out again with Georgia Tech holding all the momentum, this game could have played out much differently. Instead, the poise and confidence Brandon displayed in the first moment his team truly needed him to make a play told me a lot about the young quarterback.
Brandon actually had quite a few moments like that one Saturday night. Another that stood out to me came on a crucial third down in the third quarter. A miscommunication between the freshman and his offensive line turned a manageable third-and-one into third-and-six. To make matters worse, Brandon then let the play clock wind all the way down, forcing Heupel to burn a timeout.
However, it was Brandon’s response that turned heads. After making a couple of mental mistakes, the kind you expect from a true freshman, Brandon turned a completely broken play into a seven-yard scramble to keep the drive alive. A play in which he looked dead in the water and destined to be sacked quickly turned into a crowd-silencing move of the sticks.
Brandon had his freshman moments at times, don’t forget, but those were very few and far between. Simple things like managing the play clock better so you don’t have to burn a timeout, but those things naturally come with experience.
“Yeah, and that’s just the biggest thing Coach Joey always says: just no negative plays,” said Brandon. “Just not trying to do anything extra with the ball and just play every play the right way.”
I was not surprised that the Vols put up 45 points against a physical Georgia Tech defense. What surprised me was just how effortless the offense looked for most of the night with Brandon under center and under the bright lights for the first time.
Obviously, we are only two games into the season, but Tennessee passed its first big test with flying colors Saturday night at Bobby Dodd Stadium. There will be much tougher challenges on the horizon for the Vols, but Josh Heupel’s squad passed its first litmus test of the season, and his true freshman quarterback has already set a pretty high bar for himself.