Five things Vols fans need to know before Tennessee opens the 2026 season against Furman
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (Smokies.LIVE GameDay Center) — Before the Vols run through the T and kick off the 2026 season, here are the storylines to know as Tennessee welcomes Furman to Neyland Stadium.
QB1: Faizon Brandon
The Vols will have a new starting quarterback for the fifth consecutive season.
True freshman Faizon Brandon earned the starting job during preseason camp and will take the reins Saturday against Furman.
That makes Tennessee and Kentucky the only SEC programs to start a new quarterback in each season from 2022 through 2026.
Brandon is also the only true freshman starting quarterback in the SEC and the only one in the Power Four conferences starting in Week 1.
The former five-star recruit from Greensboro, North Carolina, will become the first true freshman quarterback to start a Tennessee season opener since Brent Schaeffer against UNLV on Sept. 5, 2004.
The quarterback succession at Tennessee has been:
- 2022: Hendon Hooker
- 2023: Joe Milton III
- 2024: Nico Iamaleava
- 2025: Joey Aguilar
- 2026: Faizon Brandon
Heupel Owns the Openers
Tennessee has historically been strong in season openers, with a 97-26-6 all-time on-field record.
Head coach Josh Heupel is a perfect 8-0 in season openers as a head coach and is 5-0 in openers at Tennessee.
His Tennessee teams have outscored their opponents 260-58 in those five season-opening victories.
Even more impressive for the home crowd: every season opener played at Neyland Stadium under Heupel has ended with Tennessee winning by at least 30 points.
The Non-SEC Streak
The Vols also enter Saturday riding an 18-game non-conference regular-season winning streak.
The streak dates back to Sept. 18, 2021, when Tennessee shut out Tennessee Tech 56-0.
The Vols’ last non-conference regular-season loss came against Pitt on Sept. 11, 2021 — just Heupel’s second game as Tennessee’s head coach.
Overall, Tennessee is 21-4 against non-SEC opponents under Heupel, including a 19-1 regular-season mark.
During the Heupel era, Tennessee has outscored non-conference opponents 1,182-364.
A New Look on Defense
There is also a major change on the other side of the ball.
Jim Knowles takes over as Tennessee’s defensive coordinator after being officially named to the position in December 2025.
Knowles brings 38 years of college football experience, including 18 seasons as a defensive coordinator.
Over the last six seasons, Knowles has produced four nationally ranked top-15 total defenses, with three finishing in the top four.
He also has a revamped defensive staff around him.
Anthony Poindexter joins as co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach after working at Penn State, while Andrew Jackson comes to Tennessee as the LEOs coach.
Derek Jones, who previously worked with Knowles at Duke, takes over as Tennessee’s cornerbacks coach.
For the Vols, Saturday is the first chance to see what the new-look defense looks like in a game that counts.
THE BOTTOM LINE
A new quarterback.
A new defensive coordinator.
A packed Neyland Stadium.
And a Tennessee team looking to keep several impressive streaks alive.
Football season is finally here.
Tennessee vs. Furman — Saturday, 3:30 p.m. — Neyland Stadium.
Smokies.LIVE GameDay Center
If you want, I can also turn these four sections into four individual GameDay Center social cards/posts — one each for Brandon, Heupel, the winning streak and the new defense.
No responses yet