Jeremy Pruitt gives his thoughts on Hendon Hooker not being a Heisman finalist
Tennessee Vols quarterback Hendon Hooker, despite having an incredible season and helping UT exceed expectations in 2022, wasn't named a Heisman Trophy finalist on Tuesday night. Hooker wasn't among the top four vote-getters for the award, so he won't be in New York for the ceremony on Saturday night. USC's Caleb Williams, TCU's Max Duggan, […]
Tennessee Vols quarterback Hendon Hooker, despite having an incredible season and helping UT exceed expectations in 2022, wasn't named a Heisman Trophy finalist on Tuesday night.
Hooker wasn't among the top four vote-getters for the award, so he won't be in New York for the ceremony on Saturday night.
USC's Caleb Williams, TCU's Max Duggan, Ohio State's CJ Stroud, and Georgia's Stetson Bennett are the four finalists.
Hooker had better numbers than Bennett despite having less talent around him in Knoxville.
There have been plenty of debates raging on social media over the last 24 hours about whether or not Hooker should've been a finalist.
Former Vols head coach Jeremy Pruitt gave his take during an interview on Monday night with Dawg Nation's Mike Griffith.
Pruitt told Griffith that he felt like Alabama quarterback Bryce Young was the best player in the nation, but he was most impressed by Hooker's stats.
"I kinda dug into the numbers of all these guys today," said Pruitt. "Just looking at it, you know, to me if you look at the numbers, to me, Hendon Hooker had the best season. Hendon Hooker don't control what happens on the defensive side. He played 11 games — I mean, he got hurt at the very end of the South Carolina game. The numbers he put up in that game were really good."
"The one game that maybe the numbers weren't as great was Georgia, but who has put up put up great numbers against Georgia?"
Pruitt followed up by saying that since neither Hooker nor Young are finalists, his vote would be for Bennett to win the Heisman.
I know Pruitt brought Hooker to Tennessee, so maybe he's a little biased. But the Vols also fired Pruitt with cause and didn't give him his buyout, so it's not like he's a guy that's a "Tennessee homer".
You can think what you want of Pruitt, but he's a former SEC national championship-winning defensive coordinator and a former SEC head coach. His opinion carries a bit more weight than a bunch of random fans on social media.
Featured image via Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
