Highly ranked QB seeing plenty of Vols, has Tennessee among ‘top teams’

After making a good impression at one of the Vols’ camps in June, Faizon Brandon received a scholarship offer from Tennessee, and he went to three of their home games in the fall. The Vols captured his interest early in his recruitment thanks to his frequent trips to Tennessee, and they did so one more this past weekend.

For the first junior day of the season on Saturday, the four-star quarterback from Grimsley High School in Greensboro, North Carolina, in the class of 2026, was back at Tennessee. Tennessee is “definitely one of the top teams on my list,” he said, despite the fact that the list of programs vying for his services has grown. This was his fifth visit to the Vols in less than eight months.

Johnson spent two seasons as an LSU and two seasons as a Texas A&M collegiate football player in the SEC. Before coming to Chapel Hill, he had played in 30 career games and had 5,852 throwing yards and 47 touchdown passes.

The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Johnson had a 61.2% completion percentage while throwing for 1,452 yards and nine touchdowns in eight games during his most recent year with the Aggies. Last season, he suffered a rib ailment that kept him out for a while. Pat Suddes, general manager of UNC, reaffirmed on Wednesday that Johnson is fit and able to practice without any physical limitations.

Johnson brought his brother Jake, a tight end for North Carolina, with them when they arrived. When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won Super Bowl XXXVII, their father Brad, an NFL quarterback, was the team’s starting quarterback.

This is what the newly appointed UNC quarterback said this week in his first interview with the local media.

‌WHAT FACTORS AFFECTED YOUR CHOICE TO VISIT CAROLINA?To be honest, a lot went into it. Using the site, I spoke with a couple schools. But to be completely honest, I think this is my ideal location. The ideal location for Jake and me, since I naturally want to play with Jake. It was, in my opinion, mostly due to that.

But that wasn’t the only aspect, either. I think Coach Lindsey did a fantastic job of just chatting to me and getting to know me. Part of it was witnessing the last few quarterbacks pass through here. I’m thrilled to be at this place. Playing for these men excites me. I’ve had a great time being here in Chapel.