Former Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker stopped by the Vols’ practice this week as the team prepares to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks in an SEC road clash this Saturday night.
Hooker was able to make the trip to Knoxville with the Lions on an open date this week coming out of their 42-29 win over the Seattle Seahawks on Monday Night Football.
While Hooker never played Arkansas during his two years as the Vols’ starting quarterback, he did go 2-2 against the former SEC West with losses to Ole Miss and Alabama in 2021 and wins over LSU and Alabama in 2022.
Tennessee posted pictures of Hooker’s visit to Rocky Top on Wednesday as the former UT quarterback reconnected with head coach Josh Heupel and offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Joey Halzle.
Thanks for stopping by Rocky Top, @henhook2!#NFLVols | #VFL | #GBO 🍊 pic.twitter.com/VYDwPg8oCB
— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) October 2, 2024
More from RTI: Arkansas Football Featuring Two Former Vols as Captains Against Tennessee
Hooker is one of the recent favorites of the Tennessee fanbase as he helped kick off the Vols’ return to the college football spotlight with reinvigorating seasons in 2021 and 2022. While Hooker’s career at Tennessee ended with an ACL tear against South Carolina in one of the last games of the 2022 season, the former Vol worked hard in his recovery and was taken by the Detroit Lions in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
Hooker sat out the 2023 NFL season but was activated before the 2024 season and now serves as Jared Goff’s backup in Detroit. The former Vol played in all three of the Lions’ preseason games this season and tallied 300 passing yards and one passing touchdown on 29 of 44 passing. Hooker also added in 138 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown on 19 attempts.
Arkansas will host No. 4 Tennessee at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday night in Razorback Stadium. Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for live, on-site coverage of the game.
Hendon Hooker keeps it for the score 🙌#DETvsKC | 📺 Lions TV Network pic.twitter.com/hor0mVtTWO
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) August 17, 2024
