Faizon Brandon's humble message after winning QB1 job is exactly what Tennessee needs

The green light arrived, and Tennessee quarterback Faizon Brandon is set to run the show for the Vols offense this season. Things weren't easy for Brandon, who had to hold off second-year freshman George MacIntyre for the starting role. Despite this summer victory for the former elite prospect, Brandon isn't taking anything for granted.

Matter of fact, Brandon knows that he hasn't accomplished anything for UT just yet. He made that more than clear while speaking to the media for the first time, informing everyone that he's entering the start of the regular season with a humble mindset. And you know what, it's great to see out of the young phenom.

"I'm just really excited," Brandon told the media in Knoxville. "I just feel like everything paid off, and you know it's not done yet. We've still got a whole season ahead of us. That was one of my big goals and I accomplished that, so I just felt very excited, but still ready to keep working and prepare for the season."

Faizon Brandon knows there's still work to get done after beating George MacIntyre for QB1 job

Brandon has every right to be cocky these days, but the opposite is the case. In high school, he tossed for nearly 9,000 yards, was ranked five stars, and signed with Tennessee as the No. 3 quarterback in the country. And despite being a baby-faced teenager, Brandon is now the new starter for an SEC powerhouse, running an offense for Josh Heupel. Yeah, that's pretty good.

Still, Brandon understands that people are going to have a target on his back, as a lot comes with trying to live up to the 5-star hype. Fortunately, he's not paying too much attention to the outside noise, just getting ready to work and keep improving under Heupel's eye.

Come Sept. 5, we're all going to get a close look at exactly what this youngster is made of. He's going to have a great chance to put up some big numbers against a weak Furman defense, especially with Neyland Stadium rocking for the season-opener. Could we expect something similar to what we saw out of Joey Aguilar in his Vols debut last year?

Obviously we don't want to compare Brandon to a fifth-year senior (at the time), but with the greatest of respect for Furman, Brandon is going to have a good opportunity to light up the stat sheet in a similar way that Aguilar did. Last year in a Week 1 win over Syracuse, Aguilar tossed for 247 yards and three touchdowns.

It's not crazy to think about Brandon having similar success with so many eyes on him. And even if he does, it'll be great to know that the freshman QB is going to still take things week by week and not feel too high following a big performance. Brandon is going to have to be consistent to help Tennessee shock people this season, but knowing he's got the right amount of confidence going into the season feels like a major plus for Heupel and his staff. 

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