The close friendship between former Tennessee Vols quarterback Hendon Hooker and current UT quarterback Joe Milton has been well documented. 

Despite the competition between the two talented signal callers over the last two years, they've forged a close friendship that will likely last a lifetime. 

“I can say blood wouldn’t make us closer, both of our parents talk to each other, I don’t think blood can make us closer,” said Milton last November after Hooker suffered a torn ACL in Tennessee's loss to South Carolina. 

It shouldn't come as a surprise that Hooker, despite spending most of his time this spring going through the pre-draft process ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft, is finding time to help Milton. 

Specifically, Hooker is helping Milton's future professional career. 

After the Vols' annual Orange and White spring game on Saturday, Milton was asked about Hooker's draft stock continuing to climb. 

Milton pointed out that Hooker's rising draft stock is impressive before explaining that Hooker calls him after every single draft visit he takes. 

"The guy called me after every visit, so I could understand what was going on and also just because he’s a very humble person," said Milton. "He doesn’t like putting things on social media. He’s not that type of person. So all his achievements, he’ll just come to be and we’ll just talk about it. We’ll be happy about it together. I’m really proud of Hendon and the things he’s accomplished. The teams he went to go visit, the knowledge he got back from those guys."

Pro and even college athletes are usually put on a pedestal. Folks tend to forget that they deal with real-world problems — like anxiety, uncertainty, and general nervousness — just like everyone else. 

Having Hooker explain what the pre-draft process is like, what to expect, and also offer pointers and suggestions is something that will be invaluable to Milton as he goes through the same process a year from now. 

That says a lot about who Hooker is as a person. There are plenty of times that you see star players leave college and they kind of forget about the guys they left behind. Not necessarily in a bad way, but just because they have so much on their plate with the NFL draft and business opportunities. 

Hooker, however, has been the exact opposite. If he's not going on a draft visit or working on an endorsement, he's often back in Knoxville (like he was for Tennessee's Pro Day and the spring game). 

It truly is a family atmosphere at Tennessee under Josh Heupel. And this is just further confirmation the word "family" isn't being tossed around lightly in Knoxville.