KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – In Saturday’s win over Auburn, Tennessee football head coach Josh Heupel had to make a decision. I am sure it is never easy for a coach to pull the guy that he named the starter just weeks ago, but to get the offense moving, he had to.
“When we first named the guy, we told them both that almost every time it ends up being that multiple guys are going to be needed,” Heupel said. “So you better be ready for your opportunity and proud of George for being ready and prepared today.”
Something happened with Faizon Brandon’s game from Week 1 to Week 5, and honestly I believe it is a couple of things. First, the competition ramped up and so did the speed of the game. Facing Southeastern Conference defenses is not the same as what he saw the first few weeks. In those games, Brandon was poised and looked unbothered. Then, Texas happened.
“He’s playing a really good opponent that is really good up front and athletic on the back end,” Heupel said last week. “The game is moving a little bit faster. I talked about that last week a little bit. He’ll adjust to it. Saturday, we don’t like the result, but he’ll be better for it moving forward. Continue to grow.”
Facing that elite defensive front and being sacked 10 times, I believe, rattled Brandon’s confidence a little and made him overthink the situation more. There’s really no time for second-guessing. If you make a mistake, at least make one in confidence, learn from it and do better next time. That didn’t quite happen, and while Heupel praised him for being a fighter and tried to show confidence coming into the week, Brandon still saw ghosts coming into Saturday’s game against Auburn.
Brandon went 3 for 8 with one interception, no yards and was sacked twice. After he tossed his first interception of the season directly to Auburn’s Xavier Atkins with 5:01 left in the first half, the switch was made on Tennessee’s next drive. I must admit, I wanted to see how Brandon would respond on the next drive. Over the last week, many said he was trying to be too perfect and was scared to make a mistake.
Would he have come back with a different way of operating? Who knows, but Heupel obviously felt that he couldn’t take that chance. There was also a question after the game about whether Brandon’s shoulder played a role, but Heupel didn’t point to that.
“I don’t know that I would say that ultimately. We’ll watch a little bit of the tape and see more of it,” Heupel said.
When George MacIntyre entered, the change was clear as day. Even with only 86 yards passing on the day, he went 8 for 10 and delivered his throws with confidence. A slant to Mike Matthews that went for 42 yards was a pitch and catch that seemed simple but was also one that Brandon may have overlooked.
This is not to pile on Brandon, because I hope he can learn from this and be better for it when his time comes again. He obviously has the talent and the makeup to be something special. This may just be the needed adversity to spark the good that could come down the road.
Tennessee heads to Arkansas next week to face a Razorbacks team that is struggling so far under first-year head coach Ryan Silverfield.
“There won’t be just one factor ultimately,” Heupel said. “I said a minute ago, we’ll need them both through this stretch and in the conference, too.”
I would think MacIntyre would still be the guy, and if the Vols are able to put the game away by the fourth quarter, Brandon could get some reps to work through some things in game situations. However, I don’t look for a quick decision on that.
