Hendon Hooker, QB Tennessee: Offseason 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Hooker was a four-star recruit from Dudley High School in Greensboro, N.C. in the class of 2017

Hendon Hooker transferred from Virginia Tech to Tennessee for the 2021 season. The move paid dividends as the veteran college quarterback shined in Josh Heupel’s offense. Hooker has an enticing combination of physical traits, which should keep him on scouts’ radars ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft.

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Hendon Hooker, QB Tennessee: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Redshirt senior quarterback from Greensboro, N.C.

Background: Hooker was a four-star recruit from Dudley High School in Greensboro, N.C. in the class of 2017. He was the No. 337 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 351 for On3.com. Hooker was an unranked three-star recruit for Rivals. He was an unranked three-star recruit for ESPN with a 78 grade out of 100. Hooker passed for 6,027 yards and 55 touchdowns and rushed for 2,975 yards with 48 touchdowns during his high school career. He won two state championships and was the championship game MVP in 2016. Hooker earned three All-Metro conference selections as a basketball player. He scored more than 1,000 points on the hard wood. Hooker’s father (Alan) is enshrined in the North Carolina A&T Hall of Fame as a quarterback. His younger brother (Alston) also played quarterback at North Carolina A&T. The brothers co-wrote faith-based children’s scripture book called “The ABCs of Scripture for Athletes” that went public during the 2021 holiday season. Hooker also has a sister (Nile). He transferred from Virginia Tech to Tennessee in 2021 after earning his undergraduate degree in public relations. The North Carolina native is pursuing a Master of Science degree in agricultural leadership, education, and communication. He was born on Jan. 13, 1998.

2021 Production: 13 games, 303 attempts, 206 carries, 2,945 yards, 31 touchdowns, 3 interceptions + 166 carries, 616 yards, 5 touchdowns

2020 Production: 8 games, 150 attempts, 98 completions, 1,339 yards, 9 touchdowns, 5 interceptions + 120 carries, 620 yards, 9 touchdowns

2019 Production: 11 games, 162 attempts, 99 completions, 1,555 yards, 13 touchdowns, two interceptions + 123 carries, 356 yards, 5 touchdowns

2018 Production: 6 games, 4 carries, 57 yards, 1 touchdown

2017 Production: (Redshirt Year)

Injuries & Off-Field: Received stitches for a cut on his left hand against Vanderbilt (2021), suffered a lower body injury against Ole Miss but didn’t miss a game (2021)

Awards: 2021-22 First-Year SEC Academic Honor Roll

Pros: Rarely sees passes batted at the line of scrimmage, tossed a 50-yard touchdown against South Carolina, has good size and a frame that can support more weight, more than enough zip to drive the ball to both sidelines at all levels, quick release, no concerns about his arm strength and ability to hit big plays, his mobility is a weapon to create chunk plays, defenses need to keep someone watching for him to run, has the frame and physicality to break arm tackles, shows good ball placement and accuracy on short to intermediate routes, flashes of accuracy on deep throws, shows some fancy footwork, spins, and elusiveness as a runner, shows good touch on deep passes

Cons: Age, double-digit fumbles in 2019 and 2021, wish he would put more touch on short passes instead of drilling them at receivers, might be a one-speed thrower, feet can become stagnant in the pocket, takes a surprising number of sacks for someone with his mobility, pocket awareness needs to improve, plenty of plays with only one read or half field reads, Tennessee’s offense makes his post-snap job much easier than it will be in the NFL, unknown if he can handle to processing required pre- and post-snap of NFL quarterbacks, too quick to drop his head and run, command of the pocket is lacking, downfield accuracy is inconsistent

Overview: Hooker is unofficially listed at 6'4", 218 lbs. The North Carolina native possesses ideal size and mobility. He’s not a speedster or twitchy, but he’s shown excellent footwork in the open field and sneaky elusiveness for a player his size. Hooker also keeps his legs driving when stood up in a pile to pick up extra yards. However, he can be too quick to rely on his legs, voiding good pockets early when his initial targets aren’t open. Hooker has the arm strength to reach all areas of the field, and he puts throws on ropes. He should work on taking some velocity off the ball and applying more touch on shorter passes. Hooker has tremendous physical traits and shows flashes of accuracy and ball placement, especially on short to intermediate throws, but he’s facing an uphill battle. The redshirt senior is an older prospect who hasn’t displayed high-level processing and the ability to work through progressions across the whole field. He’s not consistently comfortable or in command of the pocket and his accuracy comes and goes on deep throws.

Overall, Hooker has all of the physical tools a team could want but he hasn’t shown the development required of NFL quarterbacks. Tennessee’s offense prevents Hooker from showing the ability to work through pre- and post-snap reads, which limits his ceiling to the bottom of Day 2 or the top of the fourth round.

Role & Scheme Fit: Dual threat quarterback in a spread offensive scheme

Round Projection: Late Third to Late Fourth

Player Comparison: N/A

Submitted: 08-03-22