Despite Bill Belichick's bombshell hiring as the North Carolina football head coach, the Tennessee football program appears set to hold on to one of its most prized recruits.

Faizon Brandon, a five-star quarterback in the 2026 recruiting class out of Greensboro, North Carolina, reaffirmed his commitment to the Volunteers today after Belichick's hiring down the road in Chapel Hill.

“I think hiring him was a good decision by UNC. … But I don't think I would [take a phone call] because I am 1000 percent locked in with Tennessee!” Brandon said, via 247Sports' Anna Adams.

Brandon, who stands at nearly 6 feet 4 inches tall, is a near-consensus five-star recruit and one of the top recruits in the nation.

247Sports has Brandon listed as the No. 1-overall prospect in the entire 2026 class, while Rivals and ESPN have him at No. 5 and No. 10 nationally, respectively. On3 is the only major recruiting service to rank Brandon a four-star recruit; he is currently 28th in the country, according to On3.

Tennessee earned Brandon's commitment in August shortly before he began his junior season at Grimsley in Greensboro. Brandon, who also received offers from Alabama, Ohio State, Georgia, LSU, and numerous other power-conference programs, proceeded to earn the honor of Gatorade North Carolina Football Player of the Year.

Brandon efficiently threw for more than 2,000 yards; he completed 76% of his passes and threw just one interception while scoring 35 total touchdowns (27 passing and 8 rushing).

Could Tennessee football commit Faizon Brandon still flip?

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While Brandon has said he is “locked in” with the Vols, there is still plenty of time before Brandon will have to formalize his decision. In that time, Belichick and the Tar Heels, as well as the numerous other schools interested in Brandon's talent, will have chances to convince Brandon to flip his commitment.

North Carolina would seem like a particularly interesting fit with Belichick's hiring considering Belichick experienced tremendous success with Tom Brady, also an efficient pocket passer.

Belichick, who has earned the third-most NFL wins of any coach in league history, has eight Super Bowls to his name; in addition to the six he won as the head coach of the New England Patriots from 2000 to 2023, Belichick won a pair of titles as the New York Giants defensive coordinator in 1987 and 1991.

Despite having half of a century's worth of football coaching experience, Belichick has never worked at the college football level before. A graduate of Wesleyan University in Connecticut, Belichick began his career with the Baltimore Colts in 1975.

Belichick's father, Steve, spent more than 40 years working in college football; he was the head coach of Hiram in Ohio before spending the next four decades as an assistant for Vanderbilt, North Carolina, and Navy.