Hendon Hooker not named a Heisman Trophy finalist

Hendon Hooker was not one of four Heisman Trophy finalists when the group was announced on Monday night. Instead, the honors went to Ohio State’s CJ Stroud, Southern Cal’s Caleb Williams, TCU’s Max Duggan and Georgia’s Stetson Bennett. 

Heisman voting closed on Monday evening and the finalists were announced shortly after.

Tennessee football has never produced a Heisman Trophy winner in the 87-year history of the award. The Heisman will be awarded on Saturday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time on ESPN.

“Hendon certainly deserves to be at that ceremony,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said on Sunday. “He certainly is one of the best players in college football.”

Williams followed Lincoln Riley from Oklahoma to USC and passed for 4,075 yards and 37 touchdowns, against four interceptions, in 13 games. He rushed 109 times for 10 more touchdowns on the ground. 

Stroud has passed for 3,340 yards and 37 touchdowns, with six interceptions, in 12 games during the regular season. Duggan has passed for 3,321 yards and 30 touchdowns, with four interceptions, while running 112 times for 404 yards and six touchdowns.

Bennett, after leading Georgia to the national championship last season, has passed for 3,425 yards and 20 touchdowns, with six interceptions, and has rushed 47 times for 184 yards while leading the undefeated Bulldogs to the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff.

Four former Vols have finished runner-up in Heisman Trophy voting

Four former Vols have finished second for the trophy, given annually by the Downtown Athletic Club in New York to college football’s most outstanding football player. 

Peyton Manning finished second to Michigan’s Charles Woodson in 1997, with 1,543 votes. Woodson received 1,815 votes. Manning finished eighth in 1996 and sixth in 1995.

Heath Shuler finished second in 1993 with 688 votes, losing out to Florida State’s Charlie Ward. Johnny Majors received 994 votes in 1956 but Notre Dame’s Paul Hornung won, receiving 1,066 votes. Hank Lauricella received 424 votes in 1951 but lost in a landslide to Princeton’s Dick Kazmaier, who received 1,777 votes.

Tennessee tailback George Cafego finished fourth in the voting in 1939, after coming in seventh in 1938.

Hooker, a Maxwell Award finalist, Manning Award finalist and the Associated Press’s SEC Offensive Player of the Year, revitalized the Tennessee program after transferring to the Vols from Virginia Tech in 2021. 

He passed for 2,945 yards, 31 touchdowns and three interceptions during a breakout redshirt junior season with the Vols last year, adding 616 yards and five touchdowns on the ground. This season he passed for 3,135 yards and 27 touchdowns, with just two interceptions, and ran for 430 yards and five more rushing touchdowns. 

Hooker’s redshirt senior season was cut short after he tore his ACL in the fourth quarter of Tennessee’s loss at South Carolina last month.

He led the Vols to an 8-0 start this season as the team climbed all the way to No. 1 in the College Football Playoff Top 25 on November 1. 

Up Next: No. 6 Tennessee vs. No. 7 Clemson, Orange Bowl, Dec. 30, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN

Tennessee (10-2), after finishing sixth in the final CFP Top 25 rankings on Sunday, will face No. 7 Clemson (11-2) in the Capital One Orange Bowl on December 30 (8 p.m. ET; TV: ESPN) at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

Hooker accounted for three or more touchdowns in seven of his 11 games this season. He had four total touchdowns three times and had a season-high five touchdowns in the 52-49 win over Alabama at Neyland Stadium in October.

In his two seasons with the Vols, he accounted for 7,126 yards of total offense and 68 touchdowns, throwing just five interceptions in from his 632 pass attempts.

He set a new Tennessee program record with a passing touchdown in 20 straight games. 

“The growth of our program is a direct correlation to what he’s done,” Heupel said of Hooker, “what he’s invested, how he’s helped build the culture inside of our locker room. 

“Dynamic play-maker that has played his best in the biggest moments. Fierce competitor that makes a ton of plays. I certainly hope that he has that opportunity.”