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'We lifted this program back to prominence': Hendon Hooker says goodbye to Tennessee

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•01/02/23•

GrantRamey

KNOXVILLE, TN - October 15, 2022 - Quarterback Hendon Hooker #5 and Wide receiver Jalin Hyatt #11 of the Tennessee Volunteers during the game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, TN. Photo By Kate
KNOXVILLE, TN - October 15, 2022 - Quarterback Hendon Hooker #5 and Wide receiver Jalin Hyatt #11 of the Tennessee Volunteers during the game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, TN. Photo By Kate Luffman/Tennessee Athletics

Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker said goodbye and said thanks to Tennessee fans, his coaches and his teammates in a letter posted on social media Monday night, as his career with the Vols comes to a close:

Vol Nation –

Thank you for your amazing support and loyalty. For me personally, I can’t tell you how many of you have reached out over the past month following my injury. That means the world to me. Whether it was through social media or handwritten letters, you lifted me up.

I want to thank my coaches — Coach Heupel, Coach Halzle, Coach Golesh, Coach Mitello and Coach Peery — for helping me become the player I am today. You instilled confidence and belief in me, and I never wanted to let you down.

Thanks to my family — my mom, my pops, my sister and my brother — your love and unwavering faith in me have been a guiding light.

Lastly and certainly not least, thank you to my teammates. We grinned, we cheered, we cried and we lifted this program back to prominence. There is something special about the brotherhood in that locker room.

Thank you God, for the blessings you bestowed on me every day, giving me the chance to play the game that I love.

Two years ago, the people of Tennessee took in a graduate transfer quarterback looking to make his mark. I am proud of the legacy we leave behind. My hope is we made those before us proud and that we inspired those who will follow in our footsteps. 

As many of my teammates and I begin the next chapter in the NFL, just this, we’ll always be Volunteers.

Hendon Hooker, VFL.

Hooker wrote in length about his senior season at Tennessee and all the highs and lows in The Players Tribune on Friday, before the Vols ended their 11-win season with a 31-14 win over Clemson in the Orange Bowl.

He starred in Josh Heupel’s offense in his two seasons at Tennessee after transferring from Virginia Tech, accounting for 7,126 total yards and 68 touchdowns in just 24 games. 

Hooker passed for 3,135 yards and 27 touchdowns in 11 games this season, before he tore his ACL in the loss at South Carolina last month. He led the Vols to an improbable 8-0 start and a No. 1 ranking in the first College Football Playoff ranking of the season.

He completed 229 of 329 passes (69.6 percent) for 3,135 yards and 27 touchdowns, with just two interceptions, in 11 games before suffering the season-ending injury. He ran for 430 yards and five more touchdowns.

Hooker took over as Tennessee’s starting quarterback in Week 2 last season, when Joe Milton, who had won the starting job in fall camp, injured his ankle in a home loss against Pitt. Hooker never let go of the job, throwing for 2,945 yards and 31 touchdowns, with just three interceptions, in his breakout season.

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