Hendon Hooker was a quarterback maestro for the Tennessee Volunteers this year.
Prior to going down with an injury in the penultimate game of the regular season, Hooker was phenomenal in leading Tennessee this year. Behind the arm and legs of Hendon Hooker, Tennessee boasted the No. 1 offense in the country this past season, soaring to the tune of 525.5 yards per game and 78 total touchdowns on the year.
The second-year Tennessee quarterback and head coach Josh Heupel were on the same page all season, which led to success with the Vols’ up-tempo, aggressive, in-your-face style of offense.
Pro Football Focus listed Hendon Hooker as the fifth-highest-graded quarterback in the nation from the 2022-2023 college football season. PFF gave Hooker a grade of 90.8 on the season.
Hooker finished the season with 3,135 passing yards, 27 passing touchdowns, and a quarterback rating of 89.5, which was good for first in the nation. The dynamic 6-foot-4 Tennessee quarterback also added in 430 yards and five touchdowns on 104 rushing attempts this year.
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With Cedric Tillman on the shelf for large portions of the year due to injury, Hooker found ample success with NFL-bound wide receiver Jalin Hyatt. Hooker and Hyatt connected for 1,267 yards and 15 touchdowns this season en route to Tennessee’s first Biletnikoff Award trophy for Hyatt.
While Hendon Hooker does land at No. 5 on PFF’s list, only 0.8 of a grade separates him and the player at the top spot in the rankings. Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis is at the No. 1 spot with a 91.7 grade while Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams is right behind him with a 91.6 grade.
Hendon Hooker is the second-highest quarterback from the SEC on the list and sits among five Southeastern Conference signal callers within the Top 10. Alabama’s Bryce Young (91.5) is in the third slot while Arkansas’ KJ Jefferson (90.8) is 0.1 points behind Hooker for the 6th position on the list. Georgia’s Stetson Bennett (90.2) is at No. 7 on the list with LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels (88.7) landing at No. 9 in the grades rankings.
The PFF 2022 quarterback grades Top 10 is as follows:
- Jordan Travis – Florida State – 91.7
- Caleb Williams – USC – 91.6
- Bryce Young – Alabama – 91.5
- Drake Maye – North Carolina – 91.5
- Hendon Hooker – Tennessee – 90.9
- KJ Jefferson – Arkansas – 90.8
- Stetson Bennett – Georgia – 90.2
- C.J. Stroud – Ohio State – 88.9
- Jayden Daniels – LSU – 88.7
- Sam Hartman – Wake Forest – 88.4
Top 10 graded Quarterbacks from the 2022 season pic.twitter.com/wjVfLjyCiM
— PFF College (@PFF_College) January 13, 2023
