Faizon Brandon will become the youngest quarterback to start a Tennessee football game when the 18th-ranked Vols play Furman to open the 2026 season .
Brandon enrolled at UT as a 17-year-old in January. His birthday is June 1.
He is now 18 years, 3 months and 4 days old as Tennessee plays Furman (1-0) on Sept. 5 (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+/SEC Network+) at Neyland Stadium. No other UT quarterback on record has been younger in his first start.
Before 1972, the NCAA didn't allow true freshmen to play on the varsity team. Since then, 13 true freshmen have started at quarterback for Tennessee. According to UT, they were all older than Brandon when they made their first start, which usually occurred later in the season.
Granted, ages of second-year players were not considered. But it's unlikely that any would've started a game shortly after their 18th birthday like Brandon.
Here's a rundown of some of Tennessee's youngest starting quarterbacks.
Brandon will the 14th true freshman quarterback to start for Tennessee. According to UT, here were their ages when they made this first start, listed from youngest to oldest. Second-year players are not included.
Faizon Brandon (2026) 18 years, 3 months, 4 days
Erik Ainge (2004): 18 years, 3 months. 20 days
Peyton Manning (1994): 18 years, 6 months, 8 days
Brent Schaeffer (2004): 18 years, 8 months, 0 days
Brian Maurer (2019): 18 years, 8 months, 28 days
Joshua Dobbs (2013): 18 years, 9 months, 7 days
Alan Cockrell (1981): 18 years, 9 months, 14 days
Tyler Bray (2010): 18 years, 10 months, 10 days
Justin Worley (2011): 18 years, 11 months, 9 days
Will McBride (2017): 19 years, 1 month, 2 days
Harrison Bailey (2020): 19 years, 1 month, 4 days
James Banks (2002): 19 years, 3 months, 2 days
Nico Iamaleava (2023): 19 years, 3 months, 30 days
Casey Clausen (2000): 19 years, 9 months, 12 days
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 at knoxnews.com/subscribe .
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Here are Tennessee's youngest starting quarterbacks, led by Faizon Brandon
