ESPN analyst makes ridiculous statement about Hendon Hooker and Joe Milton
ESPN NFL draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr made a completely ridiculous statement this week about Tennessee Vols quarterbacks Hendon Hooker and Joe Milton. Kiper isn't a big fan of Tennessee's offensive system which is why he hasn't had Hooker ranked highly on his various "big boards" over the last couple of months. The latest analysis […]
ESPN NFL draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr made a completely ridiculous statement this week about Tennessee Vols quarterbacks Hendon Hooker and Joe Milton.
Kiper isn't a big fan of Tennessee's offensive system which is why he hasn't had Hooker ranked highly on his various "big boards" over the last couple of months.
The latest analysis from Kiper on Hooker isn't just weak, it also manages to throw some shade at Milton.
Kiper suggested that Milton's solid performance against Clemson in the Orange Bowl makes Hooker's impressive 2022 season look less impressive.
His logic is that if Milton had success against Clemson, then Hooker's success must have been because of Tennessee's offensive system.
"I think when you look at the quarterback-friendly offense at Tennessee, and what I mean by quarterback friendly, he had excellent wide receivers, he took the snap in the shotgun and immediately hop-stepped and threw the football," said Kiper (via On3). "Got it right out of his hands in a fast fashion to three outstanding wide receivers."
“What also bothers me, Joe Milton came in when Hooker was hurt, and in that bowl game against Clemson, without Cedric Tillman, without Jalin Hyatt, two top receivers, he lit up the Clemson Tigers,” added Kiper. “So that Josh Heupel, quarterback-friendly offense made it possible for these numbers to be through the roof. His touchdown-interception ratio, 69% completion percentage, ton of yards."
Penalizing Hooker because Milton, a talented quarterback who worked extremely hard all season to improve, had a good game against Clemson is completely absurd (by the way, Kiper clearly doesn't realize that Hooker played most of the season without Tillman on the field).
Milton is just as talented as Kentucky quarterback Will Levis, a player that Kiper has praised throughout the pre-draft process. Suggesting that Hooker isn't a good player because of Milton's success against Clemson isn't just misguided, it's lazy. Kiper simply doesn't like Hooker, Milton, or Tennessee's offense. So he's going to continue to take shots at it — even when his logic is deeply flawed.
