Brian Kelly calls Hendon Hooker a 'great competitor'

One trait all SEC schools have in common over the past two seasons is watching Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker light it up on the scoreboard. The Virginia Tech transfer took over the Volunteer offense a few games into the 2021 season and hasn’t missed a beat since. Over 4,000 passing yards, along with 39 touchdowns to just three interceptions in 17 games as the Tennessee starter.And this season, Hooker leads one of the top offenses in the country in efficiency.

So, a very tough task ahead for LSU head coach Brian Kelly as the Tigers welcome Hooker and the Vols at noon ET on Saturday. Ahead of the game, when asked about Hendon Hooker and his abilities under center, Kelly had nothing short of rave reviews.

“I remember him when he was at Virginia Tech, I faced him. I thought a lot of him back then when he was just a young player,” said Kelly during a recent appearance on The Paul Finebaum Show. That said, the former Notre Dame coach never actually faced Hooker while he was at Virginia Tech. The only time the Hokies and Irish met when Hooker was at VT, he didn’t appear in the game. So, in reality, Saturday will be Brian Kelly’s first time facing Hendon Hooker in live action.

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Nonetheless, Kelly continued his very positive review of the Volunteer quarterback and the Tennessee offense as a whole:

“Big, athletic, strong, and if you think of him just as that, that’s where you get beat because he can throw the football as well. I just think he’s a great competitor,” Kelly said of Hooker. “First of all, he plays in an up-tempo offense. It’s the fastest offense in the country, obviously out-producing everybody. And then you have a guy that certainly is not getting the kind of notoriety yet, but I’ve seen a lot of really good quarterbacks and this guy is as good as anybody I’ve gone against. He has the ability to break your defense down. When he gets outside, he’s big and physical, and makes things happen.”

No SEC team yet has had much success stopping Hooker and the Vols. Perhaps a road game in Death Valley is just the recipe to force him to finally slip up. A tall task for the LSU defense, and Brian Kelly knows it.