Tennessee football: Hendon Hooker could prove he’s SEC’s best quarterback vs. Rebels

When Lane Kiffin returns to Knoxville Saturday night as Tennessee football hosts the Ole Miss Rebels, the game might become a battle between the two best quarterbacks in the SEC. Hendon Hooker has a chance to assert his superiority.

WBIR reported Thursday night that running back, Tiyon Evans, will be out against Ole Miss. However, other sources say he’ll be re-evaluated Friday. Either way, though, he’s going to be banged up. Even if he can go, he’ll be limited.

As a result, Hooker will have a lot more pressure on him to deliver Saturday. Sure, Jabari Small and Len’Neth Whitehead can help with the rushing attack, but Tennessee football will need Hooker to shine. This is a golden opportunity for him to become a breakout superstar.

Everybody knows about Matt Corral. The Mississippi quarterback has 20 total touchdowns with just one turnover and is being talked about as a Heisman Trophy contender. Bryce Young of the Alabama Crimson Tide is also generating hype with 20 passing touchdowns.

However, Hooker is the one with the best quarterback rating in the SEC at 185.88, and his 13 touchdowns to just one interception is the second best TD/INT ratio only to Corral’s. Don’t forget that Hooker also has three rushing touchdowns, and he didn’t even start the season for UT.

Over the past few weeks, Hooker has only gotten better. Since SEC play began, he has completed 45 of 65 passes (69.2 percent) for 671 yards (10.3 yards per attempt) and eight touchdowns while rushing for another 169 yards and two touchdowns. He also has no turnovers during that time.

All three games are against teams with pass defenses inside the top 50. Last week, against the South Carolina Gamecocks, he had four touchdowns in the first quarter, and South Carolina has a top 15 pass defense.

Taking all of that into account, Hooker is succeeding against really good competition. Now, though, he’s got a chance to massively pad his stats while at the same time being the reason for Josh Heupel’s first top 25 victory on Rocky Top.

Ole Miss’ defense proved last week it’s prone to elite mobile quarterbacks. Just last week, Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback K.J. Jefferson ran for 85 yards and three touchdowns while passing for 326 yards and another three touchdowns.

Is there any reason to believe Hooker can’t do the same thing? This is his first chance to start against a defense that gives up a lot of yards and a lot of points, particularly to quarterbacks. He’s also doing it with a banged up backfield, meaning Heupel will have to use him more.

Already in the top three in the SEC of every passing metric that measures efficiency, Hooker is making a case for the best quarterback in the conference right now. If he does what the stage is set for him to do on Saturday, he could be elevated into another stratosphere.

Not since Joshua Dobbs has Tennessee football had a quarterback who could become a national star like Hooker. Add in an offensive coach who likes to put up big numbers and a defense that struggles, and Saturday night at Neyland Stadium is made for Hooker.