Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker is not one of the four finalist for the Heisman Trophy but he was awful close to being one.
The Heisman released the voting order from five-to-10 Thursday night and Hooker was the first player to miss the cut, coming in at No. 5 in the voting.
Heisman Trophy voting
Top 4 (TBA): Stetson Bennett, Georgia; Max Duggan, TCU; C.J. Stroud, Ohio State; Caleb Williams, USC
5. Hendon Hooker, Tennessee
6. Bryce Young, Alabama
7. Blake Corum, Michigan
8. Michael Penix Jr., Washington
9. Bijan Robinson, Texas
10. Drake Maye, UNC— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) December 9, 2022
Hooker slightly edged out Alabama quarterback Bryce Young for the fifth spot while Michigan running back Blake Corum and Washington quarterback (and former Tennessee commit) Michael Penix Jr. came in at No. 7 and No. 8 respectively.
Hooker had a massive super senior season for Tennessee, throwing for 3,135 yards, 27 touchdowns and two interceptions while rushing for 430 yards and four more touchdowns in just shy of 11 games. The former Virginia Tech transfer delivered in big games, leading the Vols to wins over Alabama, Florida and LSU.
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The Greensboro, North Carolina’s numbers and big game success was enough to earn him SEC Offensive Player of the Year honors from both the SEC’s media and coaches. While Hooker earned the highest honors in the SEC, he was left empty handed in national awards.
In addition to finishing outside the top four in the Heisman, Hooker wasn’t a nominee for the Davey O’Brian Award (best quarterback) and finished as a runner up for the Maxwell Award (best player).
While Hooker didn’t earn any national awards, the Tennessee football program didn’t leave the college football awards show empty handed.
Star receiver Jalin Hyatt beat out Ohio State Marvin Harrison Jr. for the Biletnikoff Award— honoring the nation’s best receiver. Hyatt tallied 1,267 yards and 15 touchdowns on the season including five touchdowns in the Vols’ win over Alabama.
The Heisman Trophy releases its full voting numbers following the announcement of the winner Saturday night. Then we’ll see how close Hooker was to the fourth place spot and earning an invite to New York City.
