Tennessee football might have questions at quarterback heading into the 2025 season, but the future looks bright at quarterback, and it could soon look even better for the Vols.
2026 five-star quarterback Faizon Brandon is firmly committed to Tennessee and is expected to be the next five-star quarterback to join Tennessee's roster at the end of the next recruiting cycle, but Josh Heupel has locked in on his next target, a 2028 prodigy being labeled as the "next big thing."
Neimann Lawrence, a 15-year-old Miami Northwestern quarterback, received a lot of hype after his freshman season. The Athletic has gone as far as to label him the "next big thing" ahead of his sophomore season.
He was ranked as the No. 1 player in his class in ESPN's 2024 Underclassman Report, and On3 Recruiting has named him a top 100 player to watch in the 2028 recruiting class.
"There's not a lot of guys here in this state that are going to be like him," said Larry Blustein, a longtime Florida recruiting analyst. "But here's the truth: There's not a lot of kids like him in California and Texas either. He's just a dude."
Lawrence has already set up multiple recruiting visits this summer, including a trip to Tennessee. He will also be visiting Texas, Oregon, and Notre Dame this summer. He has also received some high-profile offers from Alabama, Georgia, Miami, Oregon, Ohio State, and Penn State.
He has made it clear that before he begins taking visits, he wants to go somewhere that will help him develop as a quarterback and hone his skills for a long, successful football career.
"Development is a big part of where I'll make my decision to go play," Lawrence said. "For me, I want to know how many transfer quarterbacks a school has taken in the past five years. That's an important question I like to ask just to see where a program is in that aspect. Obviously, I love to throw the ball. Offenses that push the ball downfield, those are the offenses we're definitely intrigued by."
While it is unlikely Tennessee's roster will be full of transfer quarterbacks by the time Lawrence decides to commit to the Vols or somewhere else, this could play a factor in his decision.
Heupel has done a great job developing quarterbacks, whether through the transfer portal or traditional recruiting out of high school. That could be a big factor in swaying Lawrence to Knoxville.
Tennessee's offense also does a phenomenal job pushing the ball downfield and letting the quarterback thrive once he gains a strong understanding of the system.
Between Hendon Hooker and Joe Milton, Heupel has already produced two NFL-worthy quarterbacks in his short time at Tennessee and that could be a recruiting pitch for Lawrence and other potential quarterbacks.