Hendon Hooker is motivated to show he's better than other rookie QB's
There was a ton of talk about where Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker would land leading up to the 2023 NFL Draft. I have to be honest with you, the Detroit Lions was the last place I thought he'd wind up. He just wasn't on my radar. Nevertheless, the Lions got Hooker in the third round. […]
There was a ton of talk about where Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker would land leading up to the 2023 NFL Draft. I have to be honest with you, the Detroit Lions was the last place I thought he'd wind up. He just wasn't on my radar.
Nevertheless, the Lions got Hooker in the third round. The pick can definitely be categorized as a steal on paper. Before tearing his ACL in a game against South Carolina last November, Hooker was well on his way to being a first round pick in April. He was lighting up competition all over the SEC.
Now that he's in the NFL, he's eager to do the same. Although the targets are a bit different now. Hooker spoke with Ramon Foster, Kayla Anderson and Will Boling at SEC media days this week and here's what he had to say about the quarterbacks taken before him.
"I'm very motivated. Especially like not being able to perform in the combine and show my athleticism to the max and break some of those quarterback records" Hooker said. "Ant Richardson is super athletic, I'm pretty athletic too. so I'm pretty excited to get out there and really show people, you know, why I was the SEC Player of the Year and why I was the best player in college football last year."
Hooker is out here calling his shots a bit. Specifically naming Florida's Anthony Richardson, who the Colts took with the forth pick after he lit up the combine with athleticism.
Hooker is going to have a tough road ahead of him if he plans to show he's better than the guys drafted ahead of him. He's coming off a torn ACL and the verdict is out on whether or not he participates at camp this year. He does mention in the interview that he's "progressing very well." He, of course, has Jared Goff in front of him and Goff is coming off a Pro Bowl season.
Hooker also has to deal with age. He's four years older than Anthony Richardson, Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud. With Goff in front of him, there's no telling when he'll be able to get out there and be a starter and how old he'll be when he does. Frankly, there's not telling if it ever happen at all. At least in Detroit.
That's not going to sway Hooker's motivation or work ethic though. He's already spending plenty of time at the facility working out, watching tape and soaking up advice from the vets ahead of him. We'll likely have to wait until 2024 to see Hooker play in the NFL. But by the time that happens, he should be mentally ready to understand the NFL game better than he would have been had he been tossed to the wolves immediately like a lot of the other rookie quarterbacks in this class.
Featured image by Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK
