TENNESSEE VOLS FOOTBALL: Freshman makes an immediate impact against Furman

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KNOXVILLE — All eyes were on true freshman Faizon Brandon as Tennessee football began its 2026-27 season.

The Vols took the lead on their first drive and never faltered, defeating Furman, 56-9, in a game where the Vols (1-0) controlled from start to finish.

Brandon's debut finished with just four incompletions compared to 13 completed passes. He accumulated 226 passing yards and 68 rushing yards while adding five total touchdowns against Furman (0-1).

“I thought he managed what we were doing, the purpose of what we were trying to accomplish, extremely well,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said. “Communication part was really solid, and decision making was really good. Extended and made some plays with his feet, took care of the football and it was a lot of positives from him.”

While Brandon grabbed the spotlight, the defense was just as impactful; Xavier Gilliam led the defense with three sacks and five tackles for loss.

The game began with a quick three-and-out stop for the Vols defense, before turning it over to Brandon and the offense for the first time in the afternoon.

Brandon responded with an efficient first showing, going 4-for-5 in drive one and ending it with a 17-yard touchdown to Ethan Davis.

With a 7-0 lead, the Vols' defense continued to shut down Jake Garcia and the Furman offensive attack. The Paladins finished the first half with no points.

While Furman struggled to put up points, so did the Vols for the rest of the first quarter. Yet by quarter two, there was a clear shift as Brandon and DeSean Bishop added three more scores on the ground before the half ended.

At halftime, the Vols led Furman 28-0, as Brandon began to show the fans in the stands that his legs were just as much of a threat as his arm.

As the second half began, Brandon had enough of running, instead, he started the second half with back-to-back deep touchdown passes to Mike Matthews.

Matthews and Brandon connected for a total of 112 yards over the two throws, as the two deep balls from the freshman put the Vols up 42-0 in the third quarter. That was enough for Heupel, who put Brandon on the bench for the rest of the game after giving the Vols a big lead.

George MacIntyre took over in the middle of the third quarter, he finished his day going 5-for-7 with one touchdown.

The touchdown came in the later stages of the third, when MacIntyre connected on a pass to the back of the end zone with TK Keys, a true freshman wideout.

With a 49-9 lead in the fourth quarter, the Vols added the finishing touch with a big-time 73-yard run from Justin Baker to the house for the score.

The Vols ended the game playing three quarterbacks, earning 638 total yards and holding Furman to just 43 yards passing through four quarters.

“Good start today,” Heupel said. “There’s a bunch that we’re going to need to clean up here in all three phases of the game but, overall, pleased with the performance. I thought defensively, played extremely well. We don’t turn it over and that’s probably a shutout.”

The Vols face a tougher test in week two when they travel down to Atlanta, Georgia, for a matchup against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

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