Tennessee football: Top 10 games in 2021 by Vols returning for 2022
Quarterback. Hendon Hooker. 1. player. 839. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Purdue
26-of-41, 378 yards 5 TDs; 19 carries, 59 yards
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Yes, the two best performances last year and three overall came in a loss for Tennessee football. The Vols fell 48-45 in overtime to Purdue, but that wasn’t because the offense wasn’t doing its job. The three key players to the offense heading into 2022 all came up huge in that game.
While Jabari Small and Cedric Tillman made huge plays, Hendon Hooker was the engine driving the train. All of Tillman’s plays were on passes from Hooker, including the clutch fourth down pass in the fourth quarter, and Hooker did a lot more than that.
He built UT a 21-10 lead after Tillman’s two touchdowns with three completions to Jalin Hyatt, Princeton Fant and JaVonta Payton to gain 60 yards on a touchdown drive. Two completions of 28 yards to Velus Jones Jr. allowed the Vols to open the second half with a score to take what was then a 28-23 lead.
Hooker then had a 30-yard pass to Jones to give the Vols a 31-30 lead late in the third quarter. Finally, down 45-38 with under three minutes to go, Hooker had a clutch 58-yard pass to Princeton Fant followed by a fade TD pass to Jalin Hyatt. That doesn’t even include all the yards he gained on the ground in the process.
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Going fo 437 yards and five touchdowns with so many clutch plays makes this easily the best individual performance for Tennessee football in 2021 of any returning Vol for 2022. Yes, Hooker did have one bad fumble, but he made so many other elite plays that this still tops the list.