Former Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker has officially been selected in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
With the 68th overall pick in the third round, the Detroit Lions grabbed quarterback Hendon Hooker from the UNiversity of Tennessee by way of Greensboro, North Carolina.
Hooker is the fifth quarterback off the board behind Alabama’s Bryce Young, Ohio State’s CJ Stroud, Florida’s Anthony Richardson, and Kentucky’s Will Levis.
Hendon Hooker is Tennessee’s second player to be drafted this year. With the 10th pick in the first round, the Chicago Bears picked up Tennessee offensive lineman Darnell Wright, who is believed by some to be the best offensive tackle in the entire class.
Hooker is the first Tennessee quarterback to be drafted since Josh Dobbs was taken by Pittsburgh in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
Hooker transferred into the Tennessee program before the 2021 season following three years at Virginia Tech. In his two years on Rocky Top, Hooker helped completely change the direction of the Tennessee football program alongside head coach Josh Heupel. Despite not being able to play in it, Hooker still led Tennessee to a New Year’s Six Capital One Orange Bowl game against Clemson this past December after racking up an impressive 9-1 record before his injury.
While Hooker’s time at Tennessee will be remembered for several different moments, none may have the longevity of his game-winning drive to defeat No. 3 Alabama in Knoxville and break the long-standing losing streak. That game was truly a defining moment in the history of Tennessee Athletics, and Hooker was the man to lead Tennessee to the win.
What a moment. 💙@henhook2 | @Lions
📺: 2023 #NFLDraft on NFLN/ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/D3EqkrKLy4 pic.twitter.com/OoQZ2i5g7B— NFL (@NFL) April 29, 2023
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The 6-foot-4, 218-pound quarterback threw for 3,135 yards and 27 touchdowns with only two interceptions during the 2022 season. Additionally, Hooker led the nation in QBR at 89.5.
Hooker entered the off-season as a curious case study. While most experts knew of his ability due to the Heisman-worthy 2022 season, the initial talk at the beginning was all about the big four: Young, Stroud, Levis, and Richardson. As Hooker continued the grind and more people found out his story, though, the Tennessee quarterback quickly became more involved in the conversation around the top quarterbacks in the league.
By the time the final days to the draft were approaching, that list of four first-round quarterbacks had essentially turned to five with Hooker forcing his way into the conversation.
On Wednesday morning, Hooker posted a video to Twitter of himself on the Tennessee indoor field, doing dropback passes for the first time since becoming injured and receiving surgery on that injured knee. That video was just more documentation of Hooker’s already impressive recovery since late November.
In Detroit, Hooker joins fellow former Vols Cam Sutton, Emmanuel Mosley, and Jalen Reeves-Maybin.
First day of dropping back during this mornings session… feels great to move around again #StackingDays pic.twitter.com/Pqy9aKnFhP
— Hendon Hooker (@henhook2) April 26, 2023
