KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – When it comes to trust and choosing the one to lead the team, what the players see and feel is just as important as the coaching staff. We’ve all heard the great things about Vol freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon. But it takes hearing a veteran on the team attest to his work ethic, and on Monday junior wide receiver Braylon Staley did that.
Staley, one of the Vols’ top returning receivers, met with the media ahead of Saturday’s opener against Furman and confirmed in his own way everything we’ve heard about Brandon. What stood out is Staley checked in on where Brandon was over the summer, and the freshman never left the building.
“I got his location,” Staley said. “So when I went back home, I went home and trained. I was with Mike, trained a little bit. And so I called him and tried to see where he was at. I looked at his location. He was actually here.”
Brandon’s focus and determination says it all. Making sure he was at his best to obtain the starting job was more important than leaving Knoxville to go home.
“It’s crazy because just being a true freshman, you want to go back home and see your family,” Staley said. “He came in and did what he had to do. He was competing for a starting job, and that’s what he had to do to get that job. That’s definitely his work ethic.”
Hearing Staley vouch for the freshman QB hit differently. A coach can name his starter, but the locker room feels these things before any of us, and Staley’s words told it all.
Staley also sees a quarterback who moves differently than Joey Aguilar did last year.
“I think the game is way different,” Staley said. “Joey was kind of like a pocket guy. Faizon showed his ability to run outside the pocket, and that’s really good for this offense.”
Brandon’s ability to move doesn’t make him a run first quarterback. What it does is allow him to use this legs to his advantage and extend plays.
“Extended plays is, like, one of the big things that I saw this off-season, or not off-season, in the fall camp,” Staley said. “But him being able to scramble outside the pocket and scramble rules come alive, it’s been really amazing.”
One throw in camp that changed how he saw the freshman, a ball across the middle that arrived before he could get his eyes around.
“As I got my eyes around the ball, it was already in my chest,” Staley said. “I went up to him, like, good throw. And he was like, hey, that’s on me. I didn’t mean to put it right there. And I’m like, that’s perfect. I don’t need it to be no better than that.”
Staley talks with great confidence when the talk turns to the receiver room. With him and Mike Matthews back, he thinks the depth outside breaks a defense’s gameplan. It sounds like Brandon will have many tools to choose from this season. What more could a freshman quarterback want?
“You can’t focus on me and Mike this year,” Staley said. “You still have to focus on one of the guys that’s playing outside. And whoever my backup is coming in the game, you got to focus on them too.”
Tennessee opens the season Saturday against Furman at 3:30 p.m. ET at Neyland Stadium on ESPN+/SECN+.
