Tennessee football: Hendon Hooker returning means 2022 Vols offense will be loaded

Over the past week, Tennessee football has been picking up lots of momentum on the recruiting trail and in the transfer portal. None of that meant as much to the Vols, though, as the news that came out about their starting quarterback.

Hendon Hooker is coming back for 2022. After emerging as one of the SEC’s most efficient passers despite not even starting the season, there were questions as to whether or not Hooker, a graduate transfer senior, would go ahead and test the NFL Draft waters.

Well, it looks like he wants to improve his draft stock even more with a full year starting Tennessee football. This was a bit of a shocking decision. He announced his decision to come back Sunday afternoon on Twitter.

With Hooker back, the Vols should have a loaded offense in 2022. They do lose their best speedy receiver in Velus Jones Jr., and Cade Mays will likely leave for the NFL. However, almost everybody else is back, including offensive lineman Jerome Carvin, who had already announced he would take advantage of the COVID eligibility ruling as well and return.

At most, this offense loses two starters, and it’s possible they only lose one. That always laid the foundation for cautious optimism entering Josh Heupel’s second season. Hooker deciding to come back removes all reason for caution.

This year, Hooker has completed 180 of 261 passes (69 percent) for 2,567 yards (9.8 yards per attempt), 26 touchdowns and three interceptions. He also ran for 561 yards on 148 carries (3.8 yards per carry) and five touchdowns. This all happened despite not playing any significant snaps in the opener and not starting until the third game of the season.

Hooker’s completion percentage and yards per attempt were both second in the SEC. He’s fourth in touchdowns, and he had the second best touchdown to interception ratio among all starters. Simply put, he was elite in every way and the perfect fit for Heupel’s system.

As a result, Hooker coming back gives Tennessee football the chance to have a dominant offense in 2022, one that is historically great. Jabari Small and Jaylen Wright return at running back. Cedric Tillman returns at receiver. Cooper Mays, Ollie Lane, Darnell Wright and Javontez Spraggins are back on the line along with Carvin.

By the way, although Mays could be gone, K’Rojhn Calbert should be fully healthy next year, and he can come back if he chooses to, which he probably will. Princeton Fant and Jacob Warren are both back at tight end as well.

So we’re talking about the leading receiver, the leading rusher, almost all of the offensive line and tight ends, and the quarterback all returning to an offense that was elite this year. Replacing Jones and JaVonta Payton at receiver will be the hardest part, but Tennessee football still has lots of elite young talent in Jimmy Calloway, Andison Coby and Jalin Hyatt to fill those voids.