LSU's Brian Kelly gives candid thoughts on Vols QB Hendon Hooker
The No. 8 ranked Tennessee Vols will travel to Baton Rouge this weekend to take on the No. 25 ranked LSU Tigers. On Monday, LSU head coach Brian Kelly appeared on the SEC Network and was asked several questions about Tennessee by Paul Finebaum. One of those questions, unsurprisingly, was about Vols redshirt senior quarterback […]
The No. 8 ranked Tennessee Vols will travel to Baton Rouge this weekend to take on the No. 25 ranked LSU Tigers.
On Monday, LSU head coach Brian Kelly appeared on the SEC Network and was asked several questions about Tennessee by Paul Finebaum.
One of those questions, unsurprisingly, was about Vols redshirt senior quarterback Hendon Hooker.
Kelly face Virginia Tech twice while Hooker played for the Hokies.
Hooker, however, didn't play in either game (he was a redshirt freshman in 2018 and he was recovering from a knee injury in 2019 when Virginia Tech played the Fighting Irish).
Despite not actually facing Hooker, Kelly is still very familiar with the Heisman Trophy contender.
"I remember him when he was at Virginia Tech," said Kelly of Hooker. "I thought a lot of him back then when he was just a young player. Big, athletic, strong. And if you think of him just as that, that's where you get beat. Because he can throw the football as well. I just think he's a great competitor."
"First of all, he plays in an up-tempo offense — it's the fastest offense in the country, obviously outproducing everybody. And then you have a guy that certainly is not getting the kind of notoriety yet, but I've seen a lot of really good quarterbacks [and] this guy is as good as anyone I've gone against. He has the ability to break your defense down because when he gets outside, he's big and physical and makes things happen."
It's not a surprise that Kelly is extremely complimentary of Hooker. He's been a head coach for a long time and he's not about to give Tennessee's quarterback any bulletin board material.
Featured image via Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
