{
  "id": 11802435,
  "title": "What Josh Heupel said about Faizon Brandon, benching for Tennessee football",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/04/what-josh-heupel-said-about-faizon-brandon-benching-for-tennessee",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-04T00:12:50.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/josh-heupel-said-faizon-brandon-001250537.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In a 24-14 victory over Auburn at Neyland Stadium on October 3rd, Tennessee football coach Josh Heupel switched sophomore quarterback George MacIntyre in for freshman Faizon Brandon during the second quarter. Brandon had a poor outing, completing only three of eight passes for zero yards and an interception before being replaced with 3:42 remaining in the half. Postgame, Heupel stated that the Volunteers would continue to assess the quarterback competition. He added that they needed \"them all throughout the course of the year.\" Heupel attributed Brandon's struggles to not operating at his best and not feeling 100%. When asked about Brandon's potential health issues from the loss to Texas on September 26th, Heupel did not confirm any impact. Despite taking 10 sacks in the Texas game, Brandon returned to play and completed 17 of 29 passes for 145 yards, a touchdown, and no interceptions. MacIntyre, who replaced Brandon, threw for 86 yards, no touchdowns, and no interceptions while finishing with an 80% completion rate. Auburn sacked Brandon twice but did not reach MacIntyre. The Vols' running back, DeSean Bishop, contributed 220 rushing yards and three touchdowns.",
  "summary": "Josh Heupel said he pulled quarterback Faizon Brandon in the second quarter of Tennessee football's win over Auburn on Oct. 3. at Neyland Stadium.",
  "key_points": [
    "Josh Heupel benched freshman Faizon Brandon during second quarter.",
    "Brandon struggled with zero passing yards and an interception.",
    "Heupel stated need to assess all quarterbacks throughout the year."
  ],
  "editors_take": "Coach Josh Heupel's comments suggest that quarterback Faizon Brandon's benching was likely due to his off-game rather than any lingering health issue from the previous week's loss to Texas.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yahoo Sports",
        "title": "What Josh Heupel said about Faizon Brandon, benching for Tennessee football",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/04/what-josh-heupel-said-about-faizon-brandon-benching-for-tennessee-11802436",
        "published": "2026-10-04T00:12:50.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}