Hendon Hooker injured in No. 5 Tennessee's 63-38 loss at South Carolina
COLUMBIA, S.C. — A bad night for No. 5 Tennessee got much, much worse early in the fourth quarter when quarterback Hendon Hooker went down with a non-contact injury.
Hooker ran left on first down, keeping the football on an option play, but crumpled to the turf in pain, grabbing his left while on the ground.
The Vols trailed South Carolina 49-31 at the time of the injury. Hooker was initially ruled down on the play but after further review, the call was reversed and it was ruled Hooker fumbled before his knee hit the ground, giving the Gamecocks the ball at the Tennessee 17-yard line.
“Man, it was probably one of the worst things I’ve seen out there,” offensive lineman Jerome Carvin said. “Just knowing how hard he works. Hardest working guy I’ve ever seen, I’ve ever played with. It’s so unfortunate to happen to a guy like that.
“But if I know anything, I know he’ll bounce back from it for sure. He’s a warrior. I know he will.”
South Carolina upset Tennessee 63-38 at Williams-Brice Stadium and ended any College Football Playoff hopes for the Vols.
“I don’t (have an update),” Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said after the game when asked about Hooker. “We’ll evaluate him when we get back to (Knoxville).”
Hooker was replaced after the injury by Joe Milton III.
Milton completed 4 of 8 passes for 108 yards, including a 21-yard touchdown to Cedric Tillman in the corner of the end zone with 1:14 left to play. Milton ran two times for 17 yards.
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Hendon Hooker threw for 274 yards and 3 TDs before injury
Hooker 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.
Milton completed 2 of 4 passes for 23 yards and ran twice for 17 yards on his first possession, but the Tennessee drive stalled when freshman running back Dylan Sampson was stopped for a loss of five on fourth-and-1 at the South Carolina 13.
South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler completed 26 of 32 passes for 372 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Gamecocks to the 18-point lead at the time of Hooker’s injury.
Up Next: Tennessee at Vanderbilt, 7:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network
Hooker threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Cedric Tillman early in the second quarter and a 7-yard touchdown to Bru McCoy with 12 seconds left in the first half. He had a 41-yard touchdown to Princeton Fant in the third quarter.
Hooker entered the 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.
He took over for 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 last season.
Tennessee is on the road at Vanderbilt next week in the regular-season finale, a 7:30 p.m. kickoff (TV: SEC Network) at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville. The Commodores have won two straight — upsetting Kentucky on the road last week and Florida at home on Saturday afternoon — and looking for a sixth win and bowl eligibility.
