Josh Heupel clears up major misconception about Vols QB Hendon Hooker
The 2023 NFL Draft is set to get underway on Thursday night and Tennessee Vols quarterback Hendon Hooker is hoping to hear his name called in the first round. Hooker has been gaining momentum in recent weeks as a potential first-round selection, but it's not a certainty that he'll be among the first 31 players […]
The 2023 NFL Draft is set to get underway on Thursday night and Tennessee Vols quarterback Hendon Hooker is hoping to hear his name called in the first round.
Hooker has been gaining momentum in recent weeks as a potential first-round selection, but it's not a certainty that he'll be among the first 31 players selected (there are only 31 first-round picks this year due to the Miami Dolphins forfeiting their first-rounder).
Several NFL teams have shown interest in Hooker, including the Tennessee Titans and the Las Vegas Raiders, as well as a few other franchises.
Tennessee head football coach Josh Heupel hasn't been shy about praising Hooker ahead of the draft.
Heupel has made sure to vouch for Hooker every chance he gets. And he gave a final pitch for his former quarterback this week during an appearance on Sirius XM.
During that final pitch, Heupel cleared up a major misconception about Hooker.
One of the perceived negatives about Hooker during the predraft process has been the idea that he won't be prepared to make calls at the line of scrimmage in the NFL. Numerous analysts have suggested that Hooker doesn't know how to adjust protections and make other key presnap calls.
According to Heupel, that narrative simply isn't true.
"He does an unbelievable job of processing the information extremely quickly, run-run checks, run-pass checks, loaded box checks, alerts, and kills," said Heupel while discussing Hooker. "He controls it all for us. And he's got an unbelievable understanding of protections, schemes, how to redirect to protections. He's been able to go through that. You know, there's a little bit of a misnomer because of our tempo that he didn't have all that on his plate. He does. And that's been a huge part of why he's continued to climb during the draft process because he's able to relay all that information to executives, and they have a great understanding of his football knowledge and without that, he wouldn't play at the level that he did for us this past season."
"His process that he's gone through in college football being able to handle the ups and downs, peaks and valleys to be able to come to the other side of the forest, I think is going to help him in the next step," continued Heupel. "And I think that part of it's a real positive for NFL teams because they know he's somebody that's going to be able to grind it out, that's going to be able to compete, that's going to be able to handle adversity and handle it in a really positive way."
"The great thing about Hendon is his best football is still out in front of him and I cannot wait to see where he goes and see him start his journey," added Heupel. "He does an unbelievable job."
Hooker is smart, mature, talented, he has a history of elite production, and he has ideal size for an NFL quarterback. He went toe to toe with three of the top four quarterbacks in this year's draft and he won those matchups (Alabama's Bryce Young, Kentucky's Will Levis, and Florida's Anthony Richardson). I'm not sure what else Hooker has to do to prove that he should be one of the top players selected in the draft.
One thing, however, is certain — whoever drafts Hooker will be getting an incredibly hard worker who will do everything it takes to find success in the NFL.
