One game and one moment put Hendon Hooker on the radar of Detroit Lions GM Brad Holmes

Of all the due diligence an NFL front office can do during the pre-draft process, there’s nothing that compares to watching prospects live and in person, playing under college football’s bright lights on a Saturday afternoon.

When Tennessee beat Florida 38-33 at Neyland Stadium on September 24, Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes was in attendance. What he saw from Hendon Hooker that day was still in his head after drafting Hooker at No. 68 overall Friday in the third round of the NFL Draft.

“There were things that I saw in that live game that you can’t see on tape,” Holmes said during his press conference after Day 2 of the NFL Draft Friday night. “It was his urgency and his tempo throughout the game. He was actually playing very, very urgent. He was playing violent in the run game. He was playing violent in the passing game. I just kind of liked the nature of the way he was playing. 

“There were little things that kind of stood out to me,” Holmes continued, “in terms of he’d scored a touchdown and instead of him being on the bench with the headset on or talking to the coach in the box, he’s standing on the sideline waiting to congratulate his extra point team. It’s little things like that that show what kind of kind person he was.”

Brad Holmes on Hendon Hooker: ‘He’s a good person, he’s smart, he’s very talented’

Hooker was dominant in the win, combining for 461 total yards and three touchdowns. He completed 22 of 28 passes for 349 yards and two touchdowns and led Tennessee on the ground, too, rushing 13 times for 112 yards and another score. 

With the Vols trailing 14-10 late in the second quarter, Hooker led a 99-yard touchdown drive that changed the game. He ended the drive with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Bru McCoy in the back of the end zone with seven seconds left in the half.

“Regardless of background and all that, he’s just a good football player,” Holmes said. “And if he wasn’t, we wouldn’t have acquired him. But he’s a good person, he’s smart, he’s very talented, he’s had a unique journey. And he has overcame.”

Hooker tore his ACL in November, ending an incredible two-year run at Tennessee that saw him pass for 6,080 yards and throw 58 touchdowns against just five interceptions. 

He was the fifth quarterback taken in the NFL Draft and started a run of four Vols taken in the third round over a span of nine selections. Jalin Hyatt (No. 73, New York Giants), Cedric Tillman (No. 74, Cleveland Browns) and Byron Young (No. 77, Los Angeles Rams) followed shortly after Hooker finally heard his name called.

Hendon Hooker read to ‘learn everything, every nuance, how to be a pro’ with Detroit Lions

Now he goes to Detroit where he’ll be able to sit as a rookie behind Jared Goff while continuing to work his way back from the ACL injury.

“He just has to get healthy,” Holmes said. “I believe we have the right situation for him where he can just sit back, develop, get healthy. But we’re excited about his upside.”

Hooker said during a video conference with Detroit media Friday night that he’s excited just to get started. He said his No. 1 goal is “to be a sponge” as he starts his professional career.

“To come in and learn everything, every nuance, how to be a pro,” Hooker said. “Then just admire (Goff). He’s been in the league for a long time and he’s been doing a great job developing every year to get better and better. That’s all you can ask for. 

“So I’m definitely going to be picking his brain whenever I can. I’m going to get annoying to him a little bit. But I’m just that type of person. I just want to get in and do my job, especially, and continue to get better day by day.”