Hendon Hooker praises teammates for not seeking spotlight

Tennessee is truly having a historic start to the season, as their latest 44-6 win against Kentucky extends their record to a perfect 8-0 for the first time since 1998. The Vols also now share a No. 2 ranking in the AP Poll with Ohio State, their highest since the 2001 season. Their newfound success comes with newfound national attention, which quarterback Hendon Hooker believes has not impacted their team one bit so far this season.

“I don’t think there’s anyone really trying to be in the spotlight so to speak,” Hooker said. “We have a lot of humble guys on our team and a lot of selfless guys, and that’s what has elevated our game from last year to this year.”

The Volunteers have definitely elevated their game from last year and the year before since the hiring of head coach Josh Heupel, who orchestrated one of the fastest program turnarounds to date. Tennessee was 3-7 prior to Heupel’s arrival, which he followed with a 7-6 debut season last year, and now has the Volunteers undefeated and poised for not just SEC Championship contention, but College Football Playoff contention as well.

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Hooker has been a major factor in the success of the Volunteers as well, and not many have obtained the spotlight quite like him. He’s transformed from an average ACC quarterback at Virginia Tech to one of college football’s most efficient passers that leads the nation’s top offense and is the currently frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy.

“Just knowing that what we want to do every day is come in and do our job, make sure that everyone is doing their job so that we can get to our final goal,” Hooker said.

The humility of the Vols may be a factor in their success this season, and hopefully for them, it can continue to work as they face No. 1 Georgia in their next game in a matchup many care calling the biggest of this college football season.

Hendon Hooker ‘extremely proud’ of Tennessee’s defense

Tennessee had a dominant performance on both sides of the ball in their 44-6 victory over Kentucky this weekend. Offensive dominance is commonplace for the Volunteers, as they lead the nation in total yardage and points per game. But on the defensive side of the ball, Tennessee arguably had their strongest showing of the season, as quarterback Hendon Hooker spoke about the improvement of that unit.

“Day in and day out I see the defensive guys put in extra work. Whether it’s getting on the jugs, which you can see these guys they’ve been on the jugs heavily, making great plays on the ball and coming out with their hair on fire which is their goal,” Hooker said as he sat next to teammates Brandon Turnage and Doneiko Slaughter who both secured interceptions against Kentucky.

The work on the jugs machine surely paid off for the Volunteers, as they forced quarterback Will Levis into three interceptions in Saturday’s game, tying his career-worst for a single game.

The Vols defense did a great job in both stopping the run and pass, holding Kentucky to less than 100 yards in the air and just 107 on the ground in a dominant performance across the board. Tennessee held Alcorn State to six points in their week 3 matchup, but doing so now for a second time this season against an SEC opponent that averages 24 points per game is impressive. Not too bad for a defense that had to line up against the nation’s top offense every single day in practice.

“So I’m extremely proud of them and to compete against them every day, it’s a heated battle on that practice field, so just excited to go out there and compete with them.

On both sides of the ball, Tennessee will be in a very heated battle in their next game, as they take on No. 1 Georgia on the road in a matchup that many fans have had circled on their calendars since their upset victory over Alabama.