Tennessee Football: Hendon Hooker’s road to recovery, draft stock, more

Former Tennessee football Quarterback, Hendon Hooker, has been trending upwards in recent draft projections. Here’s a quick update on the former Volunteer.

Hendon Hooker’s draft stock has been on the rise lately and is recovering extremely well from his injury last season. Hooker had one of the best seasons of all time last year, throwing for over 3,100 yards and 27 touchdowns. He also led Tennessee football to their first victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide in over 15 years. There is no shortage of love for Hendon Hooker in the city of Knoxville, and all eyes will be on the QB come draft day.

Hendon Hooker’s Draft Stock:

According to NFL Rookie Watch, these are the 2023 NFL Draft QBs by Total QBR last season:

Hendon Hooker: 89.4

CJ Stroud: 87.7

Bryce Young: 83.7

Anthony Richardson: 70.6

Will Levis: 60.4

It’s clear that Hooker is in a league of his own, finishing with a better QBR than the Heisman winner, and leading all of College Football with his dominant number.

Bucky Brooks had this to say about Hendon Hooker a few days ago:

"“Injured or not, Hendon Hooker is no worse than the QB3 in his class. Talented and experienced with the athleticism and passing prowess that is required to play at a high level in this league. There might be [better] prospects, but there are not many QBs with better skills than [Hendon Hooker].”"

At the Reese’s Senior Bowl, he also blew away many of the NFL scouts in his meetings with the teams. This is all so good to hear and the Tennessee football QB’s draft stock is continuing to rise.

Hendon Hooker’s Road to Recovery

Hendon had been the front-runner for the Heisman Trophy for most of the season last year, but a tragic ACL injury took him out of that conversation after the game against USC. Hooker has been recovering at a tremendous pace, and people are even saying that he might be ready to go sooner rather than later.

According to Pelissero:

"“Hooker is off the crutches and indicated he should be back running by the end of March and will be ready for training camp wherever he winds up. Hooker also reaffirms his belief that he’s the best player available in the 2023 NFL Draft”"