Hendon Hooker: The root of the dramatic change in the Tennessee quarterback

Since getting to Tennessee, quarterback Hendon Hooker has gone through massive changes, both in his on-field ability and leadership skills. The Tennessee quarterback coach, Joey Halzle, explained.

“When we first got here, I watched every clip that every quarterback that was on campus had from game film,” Joey Halzle said about Hendon Hooker. “Hendon was clearly very talented. I was excited for the opportunity to work with him. With what everybody said about him, he was a great guy.”

“Starting to work with him when we first got here in February, March and then into spring ball, Hendon was a guy who was way too far in the business model, meaning that nothing was fun. Everything was serious. That wasn’t his best way to play. For some guys it is. It is not for him. We had to spend a long time working on having him really just enjoy the game while working hard. Working hard doesn’t mean serious all of the time, though. He is fun. He is enjoying himself and enjoying his time out on the field. That is what has allowed his talent to now take over again. He’s not tightening himself up with his own mind,” Halzle said of Hendon Hooker.

Halzle explained that when he first got to Tennessee, Hendon Hooker was playing too tight. He treated it like a business, but he wasn’t having fun. Once he started to let go and have fun, his play dramatically improved.

“Because he was exclusively business-minded when we got here. Everything about him was tight…This is an extremely talented athlete that’s not showcasing any of his athleticism. We had to just bend that mind a little bit and work on his mind every single day to, ‘Yes. This is football, this is fun. You have to be serious, but you have to do it in a fun way,'” Halzle explained Hendon Hooker’s mindset.

Teaching Hendon Hooker to have fun

Joey Halzle broke down how they had to change Hendon Hooker’s approach to the game. They needed to make sure he was having fun while taking the game seriously. It’s not just about one or the other. There needed to be a balance for Hooker.

“(Having fun) doesn’t mean not paying attention. It doesn’t mean being completely goofy out there on the field, and not having a mindset that we have something to go do,” Hazle explained finding a balance in Hendon Hooker’s approach to football. “But there’s a way to do it in which you can still enjoy the game that you’re playing. When he started doing that, he started loosening up, and that’s when you saw the growth in Hendon last year. I noticed that being serious every single moment of his life didn’t work for him.”

“I watched him (Hendon Hooker) when he was messing around playing basketball. He’d get a big smile on his face, and nobody could guard him. I told him last year in the summer, ‘I want you to play football like you play basketball.’ Because when he plays basketball, he knows he’s the best player on the court.”