Every team facing the Tennessee Volunteers this season has been wondering the same thing: How do you stop quarterback Hendon Hooker? The fifth-year senior came into Saturday’s game against the Georgia Bulldogs with 156 completions in 219 attempts (71.2%) for 2,338 yards (10.7 YPA), 21 touchdowns, and one interception. And while Georgia’s defense was looking like a reasonable facsimile of 2021’s record-setting squad, the extent to which this Kirby Smart defense put it to Hooker and his team in a 27-13 win, was decisive to say the least.
In this game, Hooker completed 23 of 33 passes for just 195 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception. CBS analyst Gary Danielson opined during the broadcast that the Bulldogs were playing a ton of man coverage, and that’s what was throwing Hooker off. As Hooker came into this game completing 73 of 110 passes for 1,156 yards, 11 touchdowns, and no interceptions against man coverage (per Sports Info Solutions), that dog really doesn’t hunt.
