Hendon Hooker expresses one thing he wishes he would’ve done differently at Tennessee and it’s kind of heartbreaking
Hendon Hooker spent two memorable seasons as the Tennessee Volunteers’ quarterback.
There’s not much that Hendon Hooker would change about his time at Tennessee, but there is one thing the former Vols quarterback wishes he would’ve done differently.
Hooker told The Tennessean this week that he wishes he would’ve sat out against South Carolina in 2022.
That’s because Hooker was already dealing with a knee injury before tearing his ACL in the Volunteers’ 63-38 loss to the Gamecocks.
“If I could go back,” said Hooker. “I would have sat out that last game, honestly. I didn’t know that my meniscus was torn, so I had no stability.”
Hooker first revealed the meniscus injury earlier this year during an interview with 104.5 The Zone’s 3HL.
“What’s really crazy is I didn’t run prior to that game the entire week,” said Hooker. “I was just sitting in the pocket throwing the ball. I tore my meniscus the game before, against Missouri. So essentially, I’m playing the entire South Carolina game on a torn meniscus.
“The third play of the game, I take off for 50 yards (it was actually 29 yards). I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m good to go.’ The next time I tried to run, I put my foot in the ground, and I have no meniscus, so there’s nothing to stabilize the ACL. But I had a feeling [because] the ground didn’t feel good to me pregame. It was sandy. I was like, ‘This doesn’t feel right.’ It was a tough deal.”
Sitting out against South Carolina probably wouldn’t have changed the outcome of the game, but it would’ve at least allowed Hooker to get healthy for his rookie season in the NFL.
Instead, Hooker, a third-round selection by the Detroit Lions in the 2023 NFL Draft, missed his entire rookie season, which obviously set his development back.
The Lions released Hooker ahead of the 2025 season. After spending time with the Carolina Panthers and New York Jets last season, Hooker landed with the Tennessee Titans earlier this offseason.
Hooker, though, is operating as the Titans’ No. 4 quarterback in training camp, and he wasn’t mentioned by head coach Robert Saleh this week when discussing the backup quarterback role.
Maybe things go differently for Hooker in the NFL if he would’ve been healthy as a rookie instead of dealing with the torn ACL.