ESPN goes a very different direction with five-star Tennessee Vols commit Faizon Brandon than another national outlet did recently

The ebbs and flows of recruiting rankings during the high school football offseason never cease to be amusing.  That's particularly the case with players like five-star Tennessee Vols commit QB Faizon Brandon.  The Greensboro, NC product is viewed by most as one of the best two or three QBs in the country for the 2026 cycle. 

Brandon was one of the attendees at the 2026 Elite 11 Camp in Los Angeles, where the top-rated QB commits meet up and participate in various drills.  He had a decent but unspectacular showing, but he still left an impression on those in attendance, earning from one observer the title of having the most upside of all the QBs. 

That didn't stop one major recruiting outlet from dropping Brandon substantially in their recent rankings.  Rivals, who On3 Sports recently acquired, put out their list of the top 300 recruits, and Brandon - who was once as high as second overall - dropped all the way down to 33. 

However, ESPN gave Brandon a lot more credit than that in its composite top 25 rankings of all recruits regardless of class (2026, 2027, 2028, etc.).  They ranked Brandon at 12 and had the following to say: 

Brandon picks apart defenses with precision. The Tennessee commit threw for more than 2,100 yards, 27 touchdowns and had just one interception as a junior. The 6-4 quarterback shows strong pocket presence on film and delivers an excellent deep ball. Brandon processes defenses and reads the entire field quickly, especially on broken plays, which helps him limit turnovers. His decision-making and ability to push the ball downfield make him a strong fit for Josh Heupel's offense. - Billy Tucker, ESPN

Recruiting rankings may not seem like too big of a deal on the surface, but being able to say you churned out a top 5 class, a top 10 class, a certain number of five stars, etc. is something that coaches can use as selling points when recruiting other players, so it's not completely irrelevant. 

Fortunately, the offseason nonsense is almost over, and Brandon and the rest of the players can get back to showing where their skills matter the most - on the field and under the lights in actual games.