NFL draft steal? Hooker hurdles age, health and fitness, type problems

The 25-calendar year-old former Tennessee quarterback who tore the ACL in his left knee much less than five months ago has expended his predraft visits with teams explaining the complexity of the Volunteers’ seemingly simplistic spread offense. It truly is 1 that has raised worries about how his activity will translate to the execs, the place he’ll have to study the complete field and not lock in on his key focus on so considerably.

“I can make any throw,” Hooker claimed. “The way we run our offense, the huge splits, all those are all developed-males throws. I am not throwing any 5-property outs. People are all huge-boy balls.”

Hooker pounces at issues about how he’ll do in a professional fashion offense.

“I can’t assist that defenders are unable to guard my receivers. My work is to get them the ball,” Hooker reported. “A whole lot of these questions about 1-sided reads, we have pure progressions and routes. It is not my fault that my initially go through is finding open.”

And will not be fooled, Hooker additional, you can find a ton going on beneath that awesome demeanor of his that makes it seem to be like he’s just leisurely actively playing catch.

Hooker figures to be the fifth quarterback chosen in the NFL draft afterwards this month, powering positive-fire very first-rounders Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, Will Levis and Anthony Richardson.

“I genuinely like Hendon Hooker,” NFL Community draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah explained, citing his accuracy, acumen and adjustability.

Hooker’s age — he’ll change 26 by the conclusion of his rookie season — and wellbeing — he tore the ACL in his still left knee in a sport in opposition to South Carolina on Nov. 19 — have several predicting that he’ll slide into the second spherical. But Jeremiah has him likely to the Vikings at No. 23 in his most recent mock draft.

The 2022 SEC Offensive Participant of the Year invested 3 a long time at Virginia Tech and the last two at Tennessee.

Patrick Mahomes is just two many years more mature than Hooker but has by now played 6 NFL seasons and won a pair of Super Bowl rings. Jalen Hurts is 24 and has three years’ NFL practical experience and a Tremendous Bowl visual appearance.

“If you told me you draft Hendon Hooker in the 2nd spherical and he is your starting off quarterback or 7, 8 truly very good yrs, I assume you consider it,” Jeremiah stated. “I believe Hendon Hooker has a probability to be a real worth choose for someone.”

Hooker could finish up sitting a year behind an set up starter, also, a little something that would assuage any problems about his surgically repaired knee.

The more pressing issue is how Hooker’s game will translate to the future degree after functioning in Tennessee’s super spread offense, in which he had to get the ball out lickety-split and seldom came off his to start with examine.

Placing that fashion apart, “I’ll just say when you are analyzing him, the accuracy, the selection-earning, the poise, the athleticism to be in a position to shift about and develop with his legs, to throw as well as to run, all all those items are all there,” Jeremiah siad.

At Tennessee, Hooker was what scouts get in touch with a “half-industry reader.”

ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay figures that was far more a product or service of Josh Heupel’s offense than a flaw in Hooker’s match.

“The experiences from every single workforce I have talked to about him is he’s carried out a excellent work obtaining on the board and understands concepts and can go back again to his Virginia Tech playbook and recite everything like he was actively playing in it yesterday,” McShay said. “That’s part of why it’s so essential with the quarterbacks to have particular person time, personal routines, non-public conferences, to truly review their brain and how they find out.”

Hooker relished displaying off his soccer acumen on the white boards.

“Any time I stroll past a mirror and there’s an Expo marker, I’m likely to attract on the mirror,” Hooker reported. “Which is just something I delight in doing because I really like the activity of soccer.”

Heupel mentioned the offense Hooker was asked to operate at Tennessee wasn’t as simplistic as it seemed.

“I’m not guaranteed anybody in faculty soccer has additional on their plate than Hendon does,” Heupel reported. “Then, you throw in the tempo that we play at, you have obtained to be a rapid final decision-maker, you have bought to identify defensive framework exceptionally speedily. … He controlled the entire match on just about every one perform. I believe that places him in a good placement to be in a position to changeover at the following level and take care of all that’s coming at him.”

Heupel claimed the intangibles these as leadership and charisma are what will make Hooker somebody’s franchise quarterback.

“I’ve in no way been around any individual that’s been a more powerful or far more impactful leader than Hendon Hooker is,” Heupel mentioned. “Our program is not the place it’s at currently until Hendon is a part of our locker place.”