Even Smokey had to sit up for this one -- one Kalshi trader put $1,000 on Tennessee true freshman QB Faizon Brandon to win the Heisman this season. A winning ticket would pay $100,000 with Brandon listed at a 2% chance on Kalshi’s Heisman market.
Brandon’s 2% Heisman price is tied for the ninth-best on the board. 10 other players sit at the same 2% price.
History not on his side
Faizon Brandon beat out sophomore George MacIntyre for the starting QB job in the offseason. Brandon comes in as a 5-Star prospect and the No. 3 overall player and QB in the 2026 recruiting class.
Unfortunately for him, no true freshman has ever won the Heisman. The closest thing to it was Johnny Manziel in 2012 and Jameis Winston in 2013, who both won as redshirt freshmen.
Tennessee has never produced a Heisman winner. They have, though, had four second-place finishers: Hank Lauricella (RB, 1951), Johnny Majors (RB, 1956), Heath Shuler (QB, 1993), and, most notably, Peyton Manning in 1997.
Even more recently, in 2022, Hendon Hooker finished with the fifth most Heisman votes, marking the first time since 1997 that a Tennessee player earned votes.
The road ahead
The 2% price still has a case. Brandon slots into a veteran offense with several impact players. At receiver, Braylon Staley and Mike Matthews are coming off 800+ yard seasons and 10 combined touchdowns. In the backfield, DeSean Bishop is one of the top backs in the country, coming off a 1,76 yards and 16-TD breakout season.
The game plan also supports a pass-heavy system, as Tennessee finished with the second-most pass yards per game in the SEC last season at 466.3.
To start the season, he’ll get a chance to pad his stats against FCS Furman in Week 1 and Kennesaw State in Week 3. He also has Arkansas, Kentucky, and South Carolina to look forward to in SEC play. Every bottom-10 offense in the conference.
Tennessee’s Week 1 game against Furman kicks off in the mid-afternoon slate at 3:30 p.m. on SECN+.
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