Tennessee football: Awards show Hendon Hooker now firmly a Heisman contender

Two weeks ago, Tennessee football quarterback Hendon Hooker launched what seemed to be a teaser for his Heisman Trophy campaign, earning SEC Player of the Week honors and being named to the Davey O’Brien Great 8. We wrote about that here. After what he did against the Florida Gators, that campaign is in full swing.

Hooker garnered over 450 total yards in the Vols’ 38-33 win over the Florida Gators Saturday and scored three total touchdowns. He did most of that work after injuring his upper body. The stat line shows 22-of-28 for 349 yards, two touchdowns and no picks along with 13 carries for 112 yards and a score.

This time, Hooker was named the Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week. For the second time in three weeks, Hooker was named SEC Offensive Player of the Week and to the Davey O’Brien Great 8 list, which was revealed on Twitter Monday afternoon.

Yes, Hooker is the only player to win SEC Offensive Player of the Week twice so far this year. He joins Mississippi State Bulldogs offensive lineman LaQuinston Sharp and Kentucky Wildcats receiver Barion Brown as the only players to be on the list of award winners at all, and there have been 31 winners through four weeks.

Only Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Stetson Bennett and Kansas Jayhawks quarterback Jalon Daniels have been named to the O’Brien Great 8 twice. All three have won Walter Camp Offensive Player of the Week honors once. Daniels has actually been on the Great 8 three times.

As a result, it’s pretty clear that based on weekly recognition, Hooker is no worse than second in any Heisman race among quarterbacks. Add in stats and production in big moments, and Hooker may actually be the favorite right now.

Hooker is fifth in the nation in yards per attempt, and he’s fifth in total offensive yards a game. Although he’s only No. 39 in passing touchdowns with eight, he also has three rushing touchdowns, and he still has no interceptions on the year.

In fact, last weekend was Hooker’s first turnover all season, and it was a fumble that was actually due to a missed block on the outside, so you can’t even attribute it to him. Simply put, the guy has been a playmaker and highly efficient all season.

Taking this into account, Hooker is now fourth on both FanDuel (+1600) and WynnBET (+1500) nationally in his chances to win the Heisman. Ahead of him are Caleb Williams of the USC Trojans, C.J. Stroud of the Ohio State Buckeyes and returning Heisman winner Bryce Young of the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Well, Hooker has more total yards than all of them, more passing yards than all but Stroud and more passing yards per attempt than all but Stroud. Add in his 0 interceptions, and Stroud, who has one, is probably the only player legitimately ahead of him on that list. Young has two picks.

Most importantly, though, Hooker has Tennessee football at 4-0 going into its bye week. He has beaten two ranked Power Five teams, one on the road, and he has had what you might call Heisman moments. As a result, he’s firmly in the race now as the Vols enter their bye.