Hendon Hooker reveals where he needs to improve in 2022

Tennessee dual-threat quarterback Hendon Hooker is having a solid season for the Volunteers in 2021. But that doesn’t mean he’s satisfied with how things went.

He knows there are areas he needs to improve — but they’re mainly off the field.

“Like always, preaching on just being consistent in my play and leadership and just trying to build guys around me to improve their games and work ethic,” Hooker said this week. “And just being a leader. I feel like that’s the biggest aspect. Getting the offense to operate smoothly and take it to the next level that we talk about.”

On the field, Hooker had quite a year. He ninth in the SEC with 2,567 passing yards and 18th with 561 rushing yards. He’s a big reason Tennessee is bowl eligible in Josh Heupel’s first season at the helm.

The Volunteers are gearing up for the Music City Bowl against Purdue in Nashville on Dec. 30.

Josh Heupel: Tennessee wanted the Music City Bowl from the start

The Tennessee Volunteers may have only gone 7-5 in the 2021 season, but by all indications, the Josh Heupel era has gotten off to a great start in Knoxville.

Tennessee managed to amass seven wins just once since 2017. Under Jeremy Pruitt, the Volunteers managed to go just 16-19 overall, leading to disappointment among the fanbase. However, Heupel has rebooted Tennessee’s football program with a high-powered offense; in the process, he clinched bowl eligibility in his first season at the helm. Luckily, for Tennessee fans, they won’t have to travel very far to see the game, either. Tennessee is getting ready to face Purdue in the Music City Bowl, which will take place in Nashville’s Nissan Stadium, making for an easy trip from Knoxville.

“I think everybody is excited about what the game day environment will be with our fanbase,” Heupel said, smiling at the prospect of Tennessee fans flocking en masse to Nashville. “Just leading up to it, even before the announcement — when the announcement happened, I was on the road and our staff was on the road recruiting, but our guys inside this program, they’re extremely excited about it. We’re looking forward to it and in some ways, we were hoping that was the destination we were going to be in. For guys that are around this region, easy trip for the fans to come up and share the experience — not just on game day but the entire week.”