Josh Heupel: Hendon Hooker leaves 'an unbelievable legacy' at Tennessee

Thinking back to the scene in the locker room with Hendon Hooker on Saturday night, the word Tennessee coach Josh Heupel came up with on Monday was “tough.”

“You love on him,” Heupel said during his weekly press conference, when asked about his message to his redshirt senior after he suffered a season-ending torn ACL. “Emotional for him, too.”

Heupel added that there was “more realization” after the medical diagnosis was made official on Sunday. By Monday morning, though, Hooker had a different look about him.

“He comes back this morning and he’s got great energy,” Heupel said, “got a huge smile on his face. You can see how he’s gone through his journey and why he’s been able to have success through all the ups and downs. 

“Man, he’s so consistent and very positive. He’s able to flip forward and there’s no doubt he’ll be successful on the back end of this, too.”

Hendon Hooker threw for 247 yards, three touchdowns at South Carolina before tearing ACL

Hooker crumpled to the ground with the non-contact injury to his left leg after running on a first down with 11:36 left in Tennessee’s 63-38 loss to South Carolina Saturday night at Williams-Brice Stadium.

He walked off the field under his own power, moving slowly. He completed 25 of 42 passes for 247 yards and three touchdowns and rushed five times for 25 yards before leaving the game. 

The torn ACL was announced Sunday evening, accompanied by a statement from Tennessee thanking Hooker for all he meant to the Vols in the two seasons he was here.

“Hate it for him,” Heupel said on Monday, “just how much he has poured into it, the competitor that he is. How much he’s grown and the opportunity still here on the backend of the season for him. 

“He represents everything that is good about college football. A young man that has learned how to become a grown man, that does it the right way, that cares about his teammates, that has grown outside of the game, that has grown inside of the game.”

Hooker entered Saturday night’s game as a Hesiman Trophy candidate, throwing for 2,888 yards and 24 touchdowns, to just two interceptions, while completing 71.1 percent of his passes through Tennessee’s first 10 games of the season.

Up Next: Tennessee at Vanderbilt, 7:30 p.m. ET, Saturday, SEC Network

He took over for Joe Milton against Pittsburgh in Week 2 last season, when Milton left the game with an injury. Hooker threw for 2,945 yards, 31 touchdowns and three interceptions in his breakout year. 

“(He has) put himself in position to have a great future in the game, too,” Heupel said. “Just hate that we don’t get a chance to go compete with him again and that he doesn’t have that opportunity. 

“For him, his future, he’ll make some decisions over the course of this week and start moving on, as far as getting healthy. We’re going to do everything we can to help him in that process.”

Hooker committed to Tennessee in January 2021, just days before former head coach Jeremy Pruitt would be fired. He opted to stay after the hiring of Heupel two weeks later. 

He started his career at Virginia Tech, throwing for 2,894 yards and 22 touchdowns and rushing for 1,033 yards and 15 touchdowns before entering the transfer portal.

“It’s been a great journey with him, watching him through the journey,” Heupel said. “What he means to this program currently, but longterm, too — he’s got an unbelievable legacy with what he’s built here. And he’s built it along with his teammates … just the competitor that he is, everyone can see that. He’s been a huge part of setting some really solid cornerstone pieces to what this program is and is going to be in the future.”