Todd McShay discusses Hendon Hooker's rising draft stock

From transferring from Virginia Tech to thriving under Josh Heupel’s high-powered offense, Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker has taken college football by storm halfway through his stellar redshirt senior season.

With Hooker’s stock continuing to rise, hopes of being one the first quarterbacks taken off the board during the 2023 NFL Draft are now a real possibility. NFL Draft insider Todd McShay sees three reasons why Hooker stands out from the rest of this year’s upcoming quarterback draft class.

“First of all, his toughness. Mentally, physically, he’s handling every situation,” McShay said on College Football Live. “Secondly, poise in the pocket. He’s as poised as any quarterback I’ve seen live this year. He’s sensing where the rush is coming from, knows when to slide, knows when to climb the pocket and he has done a great job of seeing his receivers go through progressions because he trusts his protection.

“Third, I think he throws the most beautiful deep ball of any quarterback in the country. So, Hooker, who was kind of a fringe prospect coming into the year, now I view him as maybe a third-rounder in April’s draft.”

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On top of the praise he’s received from draft scouts, Hooker now has the second-best odds (+500) to win the Heisman Trophy after throwing for five touchdowns in the 52-49 win against Alabama last Saturday, the Volunteers’ first win over the Crimson Tide in 15 years. Hooker has recorded 1,817 yards passing, 287 yards rushing, 18 total touchdowns and one interception so far this season.

In fact, since transferring from Virginia Tech, Hooker has a jaw-dropping 46-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio in the season and a half as the Vols’ starting quarterback.

If that isn’t enough, Hooker still has several more opportunities to prove his worth in the near future. After an expected win this Saturday against UT Martin, Tennessee still has No. 19 Kentucky and No. 1 Georgia on its schedule. If they can escape that, they’ll likely find themselves in the SEC title game against Alabama – and Hooker and the Vols can prove that last Saturday in Knoxville wasn’t a fluke and that Hooker is here to stay as an elite quarterback in the upcoming draft.