5-star 2026 Tennessee QB commit Faizon Brandon named Gatorade North Carolina Football Player of the Year

One of the nation’s best quarterbacks in the junior class was officially named this year’s best player in the Tar Hell State.

Greensboro (N.C.) Grimsley 2026 five-star quarterback Faizon Brandon was named the Gatorade North Carolina Football Player of the Year.

Brandon threw for 2,159 yards with a precise 76.3 percent completion percentage. Even more impressive was his touchdown to interception ratio at 27 to 1. Brandon also added 564 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground.

The 6-foot-3.5, 195-pound Carolina passer has been committed to Tennessee since Aug. 3, when he chose the Volunteers over Alabama and LSU.

“I started feeling Tennessee a while ago,” Brandon told On3. “They started recruiting me early, and the first impression they made on me was unlike any other. The staff recruited me hard from the get-go, they kept it steady with me and they pushed so hard to get me. All of that made an impact on why I picked them.”

The Vols offered Brandon before his sophomore season.

“It just felt like home. From the beginning, I liked it a lot at Tennessee,” Brandon said. “I kept going back and it felt like home from the start. I think I have visited six or seven times now, and I kept getting that good feeling every time I was there.

“It wasn’t an easy decision, but I knew it was Tennessee. The feeling for them was different and it never changed. My relationships with coaches on both sides of the ball and the support system make it feel like home at Tennessee.”

Brandon is the nation’s No. 6 overall prospect in the 2025 cycle according to the On3 Industry Ranking — a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He is the No. 2 quarterback in the class and the No. 1 recruit from the state of North Carolina.