Former Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker reveals the part of his game that Lions HC Dan Campbell told him ‘sucked’ coming out of college
Former Tennessee Vols quarterback Hendon Hooker spent the first two seasons of his NFL career with the Detroit Lions.
Former Tennessee Vols quarterback Hendon Hooker spent the first two seasons of his NFL career with the Detroit Lions.
The Lions selected Hooker in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, but he was released last summer after failing to beat out Kyle Allen for the backup quarterback job.
Hooker spent time with the Carolina Panthers and New York Jets last season after getting released by Detroit.
Hendon Hooker reveals the part of his game that Lions head coach Dan Campbell told him “sucked” coming out of college
Hooker recently appeared on The Jet Press and he revealed that Lions head coach Dan Campbell wasn’t a fan of his quarterback cadence coming out of college.
The reason, of course, is that Hooker, like most college quarterbacks, clapped at the line of scrimmage instead of using a cadence.
“I have no idea,” said Hooker when asked why college quarterbacks clap. “The more that I think about it, the more I’m like, ‘That’s so dumb.’ Because when I was in college, I think we only used cadence one year when I was at Virginia Tech, and I was clapping on everything else. And then when I got to the NFL, Dan Campbell was like, ‘Bro, your cadence sucks. You need to go work on your cadence.’
“Every time we had a situational practice where we’re trying to draw the defense offsides, Dan would go, ‘Hooker get in there.’ And I would try to draw them offsides. If I didn’t draw them offsides, I had to do 50 pushups…I came a long way from just having a rookie cadence to having a real cadence.”
The lack of a pro-style cadence certainly isn’t unique to Hooker — it’s something that most college quarterbacks have to adjust to when they make the jump to the NFL.
And it gives Jon Gruden a headache every single time he sees a young quarterback without a solid cadence.
Tennessee Volunteers News
Ryan Staub probably won’t win Tennessee’s starting QB battle, but he’s already a fan-favorite after dropping the quote of the week
Colorado Buffaloes transfer quarterback Ryan Staub is already a fan-favorite among Tennessee Vols fans.
