Hendon Hooker shares how Josh Heupel has improved his game

Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker is fresh off of leading his team to a 52-49 upset win over Alabama, led by his career-high 385 passing yards and career-tying five touchdown passes, all exclusively to wide receiver Jalin Hyatt.

Hooker transferred to Tennessee from Virginia Tech, and it’s no secret that he’s taken his game to completely new heights in his move from Blacksburg to Knoxville. Hooker made a recent appearance on ESPN’s KJM show and was asked how Vols head coach Josh Heupel has helped him become a much better quarterback than he was at VT.

“Coach Heupel’s been great, a guy that’s been in my shoes, knows the game of football to a crazy level. Every day we come in I’m learning something new from him, coach Halzle our quarterback coach, QC Mitch Militello, our quarterback GA Jared Peery, and then just me being in there with Joe Milton and he has an incredible football IQ as well,” Hooker explained. “And all of us just collaborating and talking ball every day is nothing but a dream come true.”

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They say it takes a village to raise a child, and it sounds like there’s clearly a village around Hooker at Tennessee that’s helping contribute to his success this season. In his two seasons at Virginia Tech, Hooker appeared in 19 games, starting in 15 of them, and made a significant jump when arriving at Tennessee.

In his first season as the Vols quarterback, Hooker nearly doubled his passing yards in any season at Virginia Tech, threw fewer interceptions, and threw for more touchdowns in the 2021 season than he had in his entire career with the Hokies. This year through six games he’s proven to be one of the most effective and efficient quarterbacks in the nation throwing for 1,817 yards, 15 touchdowns, and just one interception. Hooker has completed 70% of his passes as well so far this season, and his confidence is at an all time high.

“Being able to come into the workplace and being able to do what I love at a high level, coach Heup has instilled crazy amounts of confidence in me and so has everyone else around me, and for that it’s a blessing and I can’t say anything but thank you,” Hooker said.

Hooker’s performance has led the Volunteers to an undefeated record, their highest ranking in the AP Poll since 2005, and some well-deserved Heisman Trophy award buzz surrounding him. Himself and Heupel have already taken Tennessee to new heights, and it will be exciting to see how much higher the duo can take them.