The next player on this week’s JB’s Star Watch may be the one I’m most curious to see.

Tennessee quarterback Faizon Brandon.

Sometimes Star Watch isn’t about watching an established star.

Sometimes it’s about watching one being born.

Brandon arrives at Tennessee with about as much hype as you can put on a freshman quarterback. He’s a five-star kid with all the physical tools you could ask for, and now Josh Heupel is handing him the keys to the Tennessee offense.

Yes, they’re playing Furman.

Tennessee should win the football game, and they should win it comfortably.

That’s not what I’m watching.

I want to watch Faizon Brandon play quarterback.

I want to see his feet. I want to see how quickly he’s processing what the defense is giving him. I want to see his ball placement. I want to see whether he’s going through his progressions or locking onto his first read because he’s been able to get away with being the best athlete on the field his entire life.

And I want to see what happens when the first read isn’t there.

Those are the things that tell me considerably more about a young quarterback than whether he throws four touchdowns against Furman.

Brandon was 35–1 as a high school starter, won two state championships and threw 79 touchdown passes against only six interceptions during his high school career.

The talent isn’t the question.

Now we get to start finding out how quickly that talent translates to SEC football.

And Josh Heupel’s offense is a pretty damn good place for a talented young quarterback to grow up.

I’m not expecting Brandon to look like a finished product Saturday. He’s a freshman. He’s going to make freshman mistakes.

In fact, I want to see how he responds when he makes one.

Because eventually Tennessee isn’t going to be playing Furman. They’re going to be playing SEC defenses with grown men coming after him from every direction.

Saturday is simply our first look.

And I’ve got a feeling we’re going to be talking about this kid quite a bit over the next few years.

Faizon Brandon. Tennessee quarterback.

He’s officially on JB’s Star Watch.