Hendon Hooker praises Josh Heupel, offensive assistants for QB development

Some people believe Hendon Hooker isn’t expected to wait very long to hear his name called when the NFL Draft gets underway from Kansas City later this month.

Hooker credited Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel and his support staff for preparing him to take the next step in his career. In two years as the star of Heupel’s near overnight rebuild of the Vols’ football program, Hooker was one of the best players in the country and is now on the radar of multiple NFL teams.

The former Vol QB1 explained his relationship with Heupel and company during a recent apperance on the Paul Finebaum Show on Thursday.

“I spent some time with him today on the field watching their scrimmage here in Knoxville. It’s always great to be around such like-minded people in the sense that they want to see you get better. They want to see you improve,” Hooker told Finebaum. “There are steps it takes to get there, and they’ll also push you a little bit and challenge you on the way to getting better.

“Coach [Heupel], coach [Joey] Halzle and Mitch Militello here at Tennessee do a great job with the quarterbacks teaching us the in’s and out’s of not just the game, but life as well.”

Under Heupel, the former Virginia Tech transfer spent two seasons as QB1 in Knoxville, where he threw for 6,080 yards, 58 touchdowns and five interceptions. He also rushed for 1,046 yards and 10 scores and led the Vols to a 15-7 record as a starter, including an 8-0 start to the regular season. 

His senior year included leading Tennessee to an improbable victory over Alabama at home, earning Tennessee a No. 1 ranking in the AP Top 25 poll and is largely responsible for the Vols’ Orange Bowl berth at the end of the year.

A one-time Heisman favorite, Hooker will be nursing a torn ACL heading into the draft. He suffered the injury toward the end of the season against South Carolina, but is expected to be cleared in time to participate in offseason workouts for whichever team decides to draft the former Tennessee star.

The 2023 NFL Draft is set to take place from Thursday, April 27 through Saturday, April 29. Hooker, alongside teammates Jalin Hyatt and Darnell Wright could hear their names on opening night. The draft will be covered all weekend long on both ESPN and NFL Netowork.