KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker has helped revive a program that was a has-been. Tennessee is now about what could be. And if Hooker leads the No. 1 Volunteers to their greatest win in 20 years Saturday in Athens, Ga., their fans’ dreams will run rampant.
Hooker is the unlikeliest engineer to the unlikely No. 1 team. His story is a conglomerate of clichés, possessing all the compelling qualities that drive society to sports. Just as the quarterback who will be on the opposite sideline Saturday, No. 3 Georgia’s Stetson Bennett, took a winding road to becoming a national champion, Hooker followed his own serpentine trail to Heisman Trophy favorite.
He was part of the 2017 recruiting class, a group that included quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa, Jake Fromm, Kellen Mond and Sam Ehlinger. A Greensboro, N.C., native, Hooker wound up at Virginia Tech. He spent several seasons in Blacksburg, playing 18 games over the final two campaigns. The raw numbers weren’t bad — a 63.1% completion percentage and 22:7 touchdown-to-interception ratio — but the performance was unspectacular. Hooker, seeking a better nurturing environment, transferred after graduating in 2020.
Hooker committed to Tennessee just before former coach Jeremy Pruitt was ousted. He honored his decision and stuck with the incoming Josh Heupel. The Volunteers started another transfer, Joe Milton, to open the 2021 season, but Hooker was an injury replacement in the second game.
He’s since been one of the more prolific quarterbacks in America. Hooker has 57 total touchdowns against four interceptions over the past two seasons.
“Hendon’s development since we’ve gotten here is a great story,” said Heupel, who praised Hooker’s fundamental development. “You pair (mechanical refinement) with his football IQ, understanding what we’re doing, understanding defenses at a completely different level than when we first got here, that’s allowed him to be extremely decisive.
“His eyes are in the right place. That takes him to his reading progression. Then his fundamentals taking a whole other jump in his game. He’s become a guy that’s operating as highly and as effectively as anybody in the country.”
Tennessee is 8-0, defeating five ranked teams, including No. 6 Alabama and No. 10 LSU. Hooker conducts the prestissimo offense. The Volunteers operate at a high tempo the entire game, getting their weapons in space and wearing down defenses. The offense is averaging a nation-best 49.4 points and 553 yards per game with the country’s top efficiency.
Every Volunteers’ offensive possession is a sprint. Hooker summarized their mindset Monday: “When we see someone getting tired, and their body language is showing they’re fatigued, we just want to increase our tempo even more. Any time we get that opportunity, we’re going to take it.”
The offensive scheme is extremely quarterback-friendly. It’s even friendlier to Hooker, who’s mastered the nuances. His knowledge and comfort essentially gives the Volunteers an extra coach. His maturity helps prevent fluctuations, too.
“We’ve had the conversation that as you start having success, especially in this style of offense, a lot of guys start to get greedy. You’re not seeing that from him at all,” quarterbacks coach Joey Halzle said. “You’re seeing him check the ball down, you’re seeing him find his tight ends, his backs, you’re seeing him get to comebacks, all that type of stuff.
“Sometimes it’d be easy to drop back and throw it as far as you can to (speedy receiver) Jalin (Hyatt). But he’s not just launching the ball. When he takes his shots downfield, it’s calculated. It makes sense to him. That’s why you’re seeing the completion percentage down the field at such a high clip. He’s not throwing it just for the sake of throwing it. He’s throwing it when it makes sense.”
Just as Joe Burrow found LSU and offensive savant Joe Brady, Hooker found Tennessee and Heupel. These Volunteers are sometimes compared with that 2019 LSU team that outraced everyone to a championship. Hooker’s numbers aren’t as excellent as Burrow’s — who arguably produced the best season by any college quarterback of all time — but they’re still impressive.
Burrow through the first eight games in 2019: 2,805 yards passing, 78.8% completion percentage, with 30 touchdowns against four interceptions (204.5 rating). He also rushed for 125 yards and three touchdowns.
Hooker through his first eight games in 2022: 2,338 yards passing on a 71.2% completion percentage, adding 21 touchdowns to one interception (191.6 rating). He’s rushed for 338 yards with four scores.
Like Burrow’s, Hooker’s value doesn’t come only through gaudy stats. He is the Volunteers’ heartbeat. He’s earned admiration from his teammates — emphasis on earned — since arriving in Knoxville. He said he assumed a more vocal leadership role late last season and into the offseason.
“Just having an understanding of my teammates and my family here at Tennessee has helped me elevate my leadership process,” Hooker said.
Senior offensive lineman Jerome Carvin: “Just seeing him lead the whole team, seeing guys’ eyes light up when he talks. What he says, man, you’re going to listen to him. He’s a great leader. He’s a great player and an even better person off the field. We love him. He’s going to continue to be that for us, and we love him.”
Successful transfer stories aren’t new to college football. Since Cam Newton’s unique college career concluded with a Heisman and championship in 2010, Burrow, Kyler Murray and Baker Mayfield became Heisman winners after changing schools. Justin Fields and Jalen Hurts thrived as transfers and took their programs to the College Football Playoff.
Hooker, who turns 25 in January, is the latest. He could become the next transfer turned Heisman and championship winner. But his Volunteers have to get by Georgia first.
“When you have a confident and consistent quarterback, you can go as far as you want to go,” Hyatt said. “We’re just following his path.”
