Tennessee football announces Hendon Hooker suffered a torn ACL

Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker suffered a torn ACL on Saturday against South Carolina and will miss the remainder of the season, the Volunteers announced Sunday.

Hooker will end his season with 3,135 yards passing, 27 touchdowns and just two interceptions in addition to 430 yards rushing and five touchdowns. A fifth-year senior, he will now turn his attention toward getting healthy as he prepares for an NFL career.

“Hendon and the Hooker family appreciate all your prayers and support,” Tennessee said in a statement. “Hendon’s incredible journey has been defined by faith, perseverance and strength. Obstacles have never stood in the way on his path to greatness.

“Forever a Tennessee legend and the ultimate teammate, we know Hendon will come back stronger than ever as he embarks on a promising NFL future.”

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With Hooker leading the way, Tennessee has enjoyed one of its most successful seasons, if not the most successful, of the past decade. The Volunteers defeated Alabama for the first time since 2006, a game in which Hooker threw for five touchdowns. For a while, Tennessee even garnered College Football Playoff expectations, though a pair of losses in the past three weeks and Hooker’s injury seem to knock them out of the running.

Hooker transferred to Tennessee from Virginia Tech last season when Josh Heupel took over as the Volunteers coach. Although he began as the backup to Joe Milton, took over as the starter by the second game of the year.

In his two seasons in Knoxville, Hooker passed for 6,080 yards, 58 touchdowns and just five interceptions. He also rushed for 1,046 yards and 10 scores.

Tennessee will close out the season against in-state rival Vanderbilt at 7:30 p.m. ET next Saturday at home. If it can win that game, it will reach 10 wins for the first time since 2007, something it could not have achieved without Hooker.