March 29, 2024

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NFL draft steal? Hooker hurdles age, health, style considerations

Hendon Hooker is fluid on the soccer field and cell in NFL conference rooms, exactly where he’s been hurdling concerns about his age, wellbeing and taking part in style.

The 25-year-aged former Tennessee quarterback who tore the ACL in his still left knee fewer than 5 months back has expended his predraft visits with groups detailing the complexity of the Volunteers’ seemingly simplistic unfold offense. It is one that has raised fears about how his recreation will translate to the execs, the place he’ll have to study the entire area and not lock in on his main focus on so substantially.

“I can make any toss,” Hooker reported. “The way we operate our offense, the large splits, those people are all grown-gentlemen throws. I’m not throwing any 5-yard outs. Those people are all massive-boy balls.”

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

“I simply cannot aid that defenders just cannot guard my receivers. My position is to get them the ball,” Hooker explained. “A ton of these queries about a single-sided reads, we have pure progressions and routes. It is not my fault that my to start with go through is receiving open.”

And don’t be fooled, Hooker included, there is a great deal going on underneath that interesting demeanor of his that helps make it feel like he’s just leisurely taking part in capture.

Hooker figures to be the fifth quarterback selected in the NFL draft later this thirty day period, guiding positive-fireplace very first-rounders Bryce Youthful, C.J. Stroud, Will Levis and Anthony Richardson.

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

Hooker’s age — he’ll transform 26 by the stop of his rookie period — and wellness — he tore the ACL in his remaining knee in a match towards South Carolina on Nov. 19 — have lots of predicting that he’ll slide into the 2nd round. But Jeremiah has him heading to the Vikings at No. 23 in his newest mock draft.

The 2022 SEC Offensive Player of the Calendar year expended a few several years at Virginia Tech and the very last two at Tennessee.

Patrick Mahomes is just two a long time older than Hooker but has previously played six NFL seasons and gained a pair of Tremendous Bowl rings. Jalen Hurts is 24 and has 3 years’ NFL experience and a Tremendous Bowl visual appeal.

“If you instructed me you draft Hendon Hooker in the next round and he is your starting quarterback or 7, eight really superior a long time, I feel you choose it,” Jeremiah explained. “I assume Hendon Hooker has a prospect to be a real benefit choose for another person.”

Hooker could stop up sitting down a 12 months behind an set up starter, way too, anything that would assuage any issues about his surgically fixed knee.

The a lot more pressing worry is how Hooker’s match will translate to the next stage following running in Tennessee’s tremendous distribute offense, wherever he experienced to get the ball out lickety-break up and hardly ever arrived off his to start with study.

Putting that model aside, “I’ll just say when you are analyzing him, the accuracy, the selection-generating, the poise, the athleticism to be in a position to move around and build with his legs, to throw as perfectly as to operate, all those people matters are all there,” Jeremiah siad.

At Tennessee, Hooker was what scouts simply call a “half-discipline reader.”

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

“The stories from every single team I’ve talked to about him is he’s completed a wonderful job getting on the board and understands concepts and can go back to his Virginia Tech playbook and recite anything like he was actively playing in it yesterday,” McShay claimed. “That’s section of why it is so vital with the quarterbacks to have personal time, non-public exercise routines, personal conferences, to definitely examine their brain and how they learn.”

Hooker relished showing off his football acumen on the white boards.

“Any time I stroll past a mirror and there’s an Expo marker, I’m going to attract on the mirror,” Hooker explained. “That’s just one thing I love undertaking because I love the sport of soccer.”

Heupel explained the offense Hooker was questioned to run at Tennessee was not as simplistic as it seemed.

“I’m not positive any individual in school soccer has additional on their plate than Hendon does,” Heupel claimed. “Then, you throw in the tempo that we play at, you have got to be a rapid conclusion-maker, you have bought to acknowledge defensive structure really speedily. … He managed the whole video game on every single perform. I imagine that places him in a fantastic place to be able to changeover at the upcoming level and deal with all that is coming at him.”

Heupel claimed the intangibles this sort of as management and charisma are what will make Hooker somebody’s franchise quarterback.

“I’ve hardly ever been around any person which is been a more robust or extra impactful chief than Hendon Hooker is,” Heupel reported. “Our system is not exactly where it is at these days except if Hendon is a component of our locker space.”

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AP Professional Soccer Author Teresa Walker in Nashville contributed.

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