Under the Radar: Hendon Hooker

It’s 1st & 10 in the fourth quarter the No. 5 Tennessee Volunteers trails the South Carolina Gamecocks. The ball is snapped, and Hendon Hooker rolls out of the pocket and falls to the ground.

Just like that, Hooker’s collegiate career is over with a torn ACL. The Volunteers went on to lose 38-63 in embarrassing fashion in his absence. Weeks later, Hooker is on the sideline watching his teammates defeat the No. 13 Clemson Tigers in the Orange Bowl.

Hooker was the Heisman favorite until his unforeseen injury, and he's being overshadowed by talents such as C.J. Stroud, Will Levis, Bryce Young, and Anthony Richardson. All quarterbacks with quality talents and upside, but Hooker faced Levis, Young, and Richardson outperforming them all this past season.

In September, Richardson and the No. 20 Florida Gators lost to the Volunteers 33-38 in Neyland Stadium. Hooker finished with 461 total yards and three touchdowns without turning over the ball.

Two weeks later, Tennessee faced the No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide, led by Young. The underdog Volunteers upset the Crimson Tide in a 52-49 shootout victory. Notching Tennessee’s first win over Alabama since 2005. Hooker threw for 385 yards and five touchdowns, alongside 56 yards on the ground.

Later that month, the No. 19 Kentucky Wildcats and their signal-caller Levis were routed 44-6 in Knoxville. The game wasn’t ever competitive. Hooker threw for three touchdowns for 245 yards in the air. Meanwhile, Levis completed 16 of 27 passes for only 98 yards with three interceptions and zero touchdowns.

Following Tennessee’s massive victory over Kentucky, the Volunteers scaled to No. 2 in the Associated Press Poll for the first time since 2001. All the while, Hooker was without his top wideout Cedric Tillman for half the season due to injury. Unexpectedly, paving the way for the eventual Fred Biletnikoff Award winner Jalin Hyatt.

According to Pro Football Focus, Hooker is projected to be drafted in rounds 4-7 this April. Why is that you may ask?

Critics undermine Hooker’s talents due to the high tempo and spread offense under Josh Heupel. They believe Hooker will have to make significant adjustments to follow an NFL-style offense.

However, the skeptics seem to overlook the fact that Hooker led the nation’s best offense in Knoxville. Furthermore, before coming into the league, Patrick Mahomes was in a similar air raid system at Texas Tech. This transition may be difficult, but it isn’t an impossible task.

The truth is, Hooker was a very productive quarterback, leading the SEC in passing efficiency ratings in 2021 and 2022. Also, he led the SEC in completion percentage in 2022 and finished in the top four in passing yards in two seasons with Tennessee. These great efforts earned Hooker the 2022 SEC Offensive Player of the Year Award.

As a Volunteer, Hooker finished with 58 touchdowns and five interceptions for 6,080 yards while rushing for 1,046 yards and ten touchdowns and he went 9-2 as a starter in 2022, leading Tennessee to a bowl game appearance in both years in orange.

NFL teams will keep an eye on Hooker’s recovery process. The untimeliness of the injury does understandably cause Hooker’s draft stock to sink, but there’s reasonable optimism for a solid recovery thanks to modern medicine in sports.

Regardless of where Hooker lands, his legacy has been enshrined in Rocky Top for many years to come. One of the great products of Tennessee quarterbacks alongside talents such as Peyton Manning, Tee Martin, Condredge Holloway, and Joshua Dobbs.

This young man has plenty of upside with his 6-foot-4 frame and dual skills. In addition to being able to spot the ball anywhere on the field. Hooker should be an attractive choice for NFL scouts.

We’ll see once draft day comes in April where this wildcard will land and what’s to come of his talents in the NFL.