Tennessee football puts QB Faizon Brandon on SEC injury report vs Arkansas

Tennessee football listed quarterback Faizon Brandon as questionable for the Arkansas game on the initial SEC student-athlete availability report on Oct. 7.

Running back Javin Gordon (questionable) and defensive lineman Kedric Golston (out) are also on report. It will be updated daily and then 90 minutes before the game.

No. 14 Tennessee (4-1, 1-1 SEC) plays Arkansas (2-3, 0-2) on Oct. 10 (4:15 p.m. ET, SEC Network) in Fayetteville.

Earlier on Oct. 7, coach Josh Heupel said Brandon "was dealing, still dealing, with some injury things. We’re working through that here this week."

Brandon suffered an apparent right shoulder injury in a 20-17 loss to No. 1 Texas on Sept. 26. He was benched in the second quarter of the Auburn game on Oct. 3 in favor of George MacIntyre, who sparked the Vols to a 24-14 win.

Knox News and other media outlets, citing sources, reported on Oct. 6 that MacIntyre would get his first career start against Arkansas. Heupel declined to confirm that.

Seven Tennessee players have already suffered season-ending injuries. They include starting left guard Wendell Moe, starting safety Edrees Farooq (knee), starting tight end Ethan Davis (knee), safety Dylan Lewis (foot), wide receiver/kick returner Joakim Dodson (leg), linebacker Jaedon Harmon (knee) and cornerback Jadais Richard (upper-body).

Tennessee football injury report

• QB Faizon Brandon (questionable, right shoulder)
• RB Javin Gordon (questionable, leg)
• DL Kedric Golston (out, lower leg)
• OL Wendell Moe (out for season, lower leg)
• DB Dylan Lewis (out for season, foot)
• S Edrees Farooq (out for season, knee)
• TE Ethan Davis (out for season, knee)
• KR/WR Joakim Dodson (out for season, leg)
• LB Jaedon Harmon (out for season, knee)
• CB Jadais Richard (out for season, upper-body)

Arkansas football injury report

• DB Shelton Lewis (questionable)
• DL Steven Soles Jr. (questionable)
• TE Maddox Lassiter (out)

How SEC availability report works

The SEC student-athlete availability report was introduced in the 2024 season for conference games only.

The initial report is released on Wednesday of an SEC game week, with daily updates leading to a final report 90 minutes prior to kickoff of a Saturday game.

Prior to game day, players are designated by their school as available, probable, questionable, doubtful or out for the upcoming game. On game day, they are designated as available, game-time decision or out.

Here’s what those designations mean:

• Out: Will not play, 0% chance to play.

• Doubtful: Unlikely to play, 25% chance to play.

• Questionable: Uncertain to play, 50% chance to play.

• Probable: Probable to play, 75% chance to play.

Per SEC policy, schools must accurately designate players’ participation status. If the school has knowledge that a player may not be able to participate in the upcoming game for any reason (injury, illness, suspension, ineligibility or personal matter), it must report it.

Failure to do so will subject schools to potential penalties ranging from $25,000 for a first offense to $100,000 for a third and further offenses.

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing atknoxnews.com/subscribe.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee football puts QB Faizon Brandon on SEC injury report vs Arkansas