Welcome back to the latest article of the Prospect Profiles: Quarterback Edition! This specific article is over the latest NFL draft riser: former Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker. Hooker was putting together a Heisman-level season until he suffered a season-ending knee injury. Due to the timing of the injury, he’s been unable to participate in the scouting combine.
According to the Mock Draft Index, it’s clear that the consensus No. 5 quarterback off the board is Hooker. Lately, there has been “buzz” that he potentially may be selected in the first round! Does he belong there? Is Hooker more of a project QB that will need to refine his skills before taking snaps in the NFL? Let’s look at his journey to the NFL Draft and see what we can learn!
High School Career
Hooker was labeled a 4-star recruit by 247Sports.com and was the star quarterback for James B. Dudley High School located in Greensboro, NC. Here he would compile numerous statistical achievements such as accruing over 6,000 passing yards, 50 plus touchdown throws, and was named to the AP All-State Team for two seasons. Hooker also finished as the school’s all-time leading passer and received All-State Player of the Year awards in his junior and senior seasons.
College Career
Hooker committed to Virginia Tech where he redshirted his freshman year. It was during his second year with the team that we saw Hooker thrust into the spotlight. When starting quarterback Ryan Willis struggled mightily at the beginning of the season, Hooker was called upon to start. He would lead the Hokies to a 6-3 record by throwing only two interceptions in nine games played. His production took a slight dip the following season. But in complete fairness, it was the 2020 Covid-shortened season.
Hendon Hooker Advanced Stats & Metrics Profile
He earned his college degree at Virginia Tech but chose to transfer to play for the Tennessee Volunteers. Here, Hooker left an indelible mark on college football. In his two years with Tennessee, he put up a combined 58:5 touchdown to interception ratio, and he led the team to two winning seasons. Unfortunately, his senior season was cut short due to his ACL tear late in the season. As a result, he’s been unable to participate in the combine or any physical activities for the NFL.
What Scouts Love
Arm Strength
I’m going to discuss this later in the article, but the Tennessee offense is built on wide receivers being split far out from the offensive tackles. Those receivers ran very deep routes. Your QB cannot have a pop gun arm and thrive in this system as Hooker did. Hooker routinely made completions that had 20 plus air yards.
After discussing it with my guy @CarpentierNFL on last night’s Mock Draft Live…
Hendon Hooker to the Bucs is a 🔒
— Matty Kiwoom (@MattyKiwoom) April 3, 2023
During his 2021 Junior season, he finished inside the top five in yards per completion with 9.8 yards per completion. Hooker also led the entire nation in his senior season averaging 9.5 yards per completion.
Mobility
Hooker operated in a spread offense where at least three wide receivers on the field. This led to lighter boxes. The coaching staff took advantage of this with RPO’s and zone reads. It was fairly common to see designed QB runs executed by Hooker and the offense. He finished his senior season with ten rushes per game and averaged 4.1 yards per attempt. He doesn’t bring the game breaking rushing ability that Anthony Richardson has, but he can take advantage of openings and create yardage when he’s under pressure.
What Scouts Hate
The System he played in
This is the tipping point for me. Hooker flourished in the offensive system installed by Josh Heupel which is inspired by the wide-open run and shoot offense operated by former Baylor head coach Art Briles. The wide receivers are lined up far away from the tackles. They run downfield and attack the safeties, and this puts immense pressure on the back end of the secondary.
You can’t fault Hooker for locking onto his first or second read when they are open 60-70-percent of the time. However, it’s incredibly rare to see him drop back, scan the field, and move to his second, third, or fourth read or hit the check down. To be fair, a check down pass isn’t always available in this deep attack offense. The pedigree of quarterback that comes from this type of offense and succeeds in the NFL is hard to find. Recent quarterbacks that were drafted after playing in this style of offense include Drew Lock, Bryce Petty, and Robert Griffin III.
Age
Hooker, who turned 25 in January this year, is the second oldest quarterback prospect in the draft behind only Stetson Bennett. Bennett happens to be two months older than Hooker. To give perspective on Hookers’ age, he is one year younger than Lamar Jackson. I’m no GM, but if I was about to spend a first round pick on Hooker, I would much rather pay up and send two of them to the Ravens and save yourself a load of trouble!
Final Thoughts and Player Comparison
Hendon Hooker was a good high school prospect. He never made a big leap at Virginia Tech, but in Tennessee he absolutely proved he belonged. After his prolific performance against the Crimson Tide (350 passing yards and five touchdowns) anyone who had a voice in college football proclaimed that he was the favorite to win the Heisman trophy. But disaster struck with his torn ACL, and we were robbed of that fairy tale ending for his collegiate career. I have a great concern with how his game will translate to the NFL. His college playbook can work on Fridays and Saturdays, but it’s impossible to run that wide open offense in the NFL.
His play style reminds me of Geno Smith, which is my comp for him. Smith can get a little lost in the pocket similarly to Hendon, and it took time for Smith to work in the NFL. I’m expecting Hooker to take a similar amount of time to adjust. He can hit his ceiling faster than Smith did (he is older after all!), but the system Hooker played in did no favors in preparing him for the NFL. His injury will make teams wait on starting him and that may be best while he adjusts and learns the ins and outs of a Pro-Style offense. Hopefully, he can operate his new offense with the same efficiency that he did in Knoxville.
