Could Tennessee Vols quarterback Hendon Hooker be college football's next Joe Burrow?

The odds that we'll ever see another offensive season from a quarterback like Burrow's insane 2019 season (5,671 passing yards and 60 passing touchdowns) are low.

But there's some evidence that Hooker could be on a similar path to Burrow.

And considering the high ceiling of Josh Heupel's offense at Tennessee, I don't think we should ignore the evidence.

For starters, there are some obvious parallels between Hooker and Burrow.

Both players started their careers outside the SEC as relatively unknown quarterbacks.

Burrow barely played for three seasons at Ohio State before transferring to LSU ahead of the 2018 season.

Hooker, who is just 13 months younger than Burrow, played at Virginia Tech for three seasons before landing at Tennessee after the 2020 season.

Burrow's first season at LSU was a lot like Hooker's first season with the Vols.

The expectation in Baton Rouge in 2018 was that Justin McMillan or Myles Brennan would win the Tigers' starting quarterback job. Burrow was mostly an afterthought when he arrived at LSU.

McMillan was the player that most of the team wanted to win the job. Burrow, however, won over then LSU head coach Ed Orgeron, much to the dismay of numerous players on the team.

From The Advocate:

Coach O knew that outsiders — fans and media folks — were expressing angst. “Oh, boy,” he says now. “Sky is falling!”

But he was more focused on what he had to address internally. The so-called “Justin camp” of players was not happy — and team unity was at risk. Some players were angry. Some were confused. Others just wanted more information.

“There was a black cloud around here,” Coach O says. “There were a lot of rumors going on … and people taking sides.”

Hooker and the Vols didn't go through the same kind of controversy. However, Hooker didn't win the job during the fall camp. Instead, Tennessee went with Joe Milton. It wasn't until after the Volunteers' second game of the season (a loss to Pittsburgh) that Hooker was named the starting quarterback.

Neither quarterback arrived on campus and was viewed as a savior. Both had to battle through some adversity to win the job.

Statistically, Burrow and Hooker had very similar first seasons in the SEC.

Hooker, in fact, was a little better according to the numbers.

Burrow passed for 2,894 yards, 16 touchdowns, and five interceptions. He also rushed for 399 yards and seven touchdowns.

Hooker, on the other hand, passed for 2,945 yards, 31 touchdowns, and three interceptions. The Greensboro, NC native added 616 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns.

I don't think anyone looked at Burrow's numbers in 2018 and thought he was going to explode for over 5,000 passing yards in 2019.

Burrow benefited from being in a pass-heavy offense that focused on getting playmakers the ball in space.

Similarly, Hooker will benefit from Heupel's up-tempo offense that puts defenses in conflict and routinely features wide receivers open down the field. Those deep shots — assuming Hooker hits them frequently — will allow Tennessee to pile up chunks of yardage.

Last season was Hooker's first year running the Vols' offense. He only started 10 games for Tennessee as well.

After a full offseason of nothing but refining the offense (instead of learning it), Hooker should be able to run Heupel's system in his sleep.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that Burrow had two incredible offensive weapons at his disposal in 2019 — wide receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson. They obviously contributed to Burrow's incredible season.

While Hooker may not have a Chase or Jefferson to throw to, he has Cedric Tillman, the SEC's returning leading wide receiver. It would be a stretch to call Tillman a future NFL Pro-Bowler, but he certainly has the talent to get to that level.

Hooker also has a deep threat in Jalin Hyatt, a player whose speed makes him a threat to score on every single play.

There are some weapons there for Hooker. And while it's unlikely that Hooker will pass for over 5,000 yards this season, there's at least some evidence that it could be possible.

2022 has the potential to be a surprisingly special season for the Vols. If everyone stays healthy, we could easily see some school records broken this season.

And maybe, we'll see Hooker hoist the Heisman Trophy at the end of the year.

Every couple of years it seems like a player comes out of nowhere to win the award (like Burrow in 2019), so why not Hooker in 2022?

Featured image via USA TODAY Sports