NFL draft steal? Hooker hurdles age, wellness, fashion problems

The 25-calendar year-aged former Tennessee quarterback who tore the ACL in his left knee fewer than 5 months in the past has used his predraft visits with teams detailing the complexity of the Volunteers’ seemingly simplistic distribute offense. It is a single that has lifted fears about how his match will translate to the execs, where by he’ll have to study the complete industry and not lock in on his most important focus on so considerably.

“I can make any toss,” Hooker claimed. “The way we operate our offense, the extensive splits, those people are all grown-adult men throws. I am not throwing any 5-property outs. Individuals are all big-boy balls.”

Hooker pounces at concerns about how he’ll do in a professional style offense.

“I can not aid that defenders can not guard my receivers. My job is to get them the ball,” Hooker mentioned. “A whole lot of these thoughts about just one-sided reads, we have pure progressions and routes. It really is not my fault that my initial go through is obtaining open.”

And you should not be fooled, Hooker included, there is certainly a good deal going on underneath that awesome demeanor of his that can make it appear like he’s just leisurely actively playing capture.

Hooker figures to be the fifth quarterback selected in the NFL draft later on this thirty day period, driving positive-fire initial-rounders Bryce Younger, C.J. Stroud, Will Levis and Anthony Richardson.

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

Hooker’s age — he’ll change 26 by the conclusion of his rookie period — and health — he tore the ACL in his left knee in a sport towards South Carolina on Nov. 19 — have quite a few 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 Participant of the 12 months spent three many years at Virginia Tech and the very last two at Tennessee.

Patrick Mahomes is just two several years older than Hooker but has by now played 6 NFL seasons and gained a pair of Super Bowl rings. Jalen Hurts is 24 and has a few years’ NFL practical experience and a Super Bowl look.

“If you advised me you draft Hendon Hooker in the next spherical and he is your starting quarterback or 7, 8 actually good years, I consider you consider it,” Jeremiah stated. “I believe Hendon Hooker has a likelihood to be a actual benefit decide for someone.”

Hooker could end up sitting a yr guiding an founded starter, much too, a little something that would assuage any considerations about his surgically fixed knee.

The far more urgent worry is how Hooker’s recreation will translate to the upcoming stage right after running in Tennessee’s tremendous spread offense, in which he had to get the ball out lickety-split and seldom arrived off his to start with read through.

Placing that fashion apart, “I’ll just say when you are evaluating him, the accuracy, the final decision-producing, the poise, the athleticism to be in a position to shift all over and develop with his legs, to throw as nicely as to run, all those points are all there,” Jeremiah siad.

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

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

“The reviews from every single crew I have talked to about him is he is carried out a terrific occupation acquiring on the board and understands concepts and can go back again to his Virginia Tech playbook and recite every little thing like he was participating in in it yesterday,” McShay claimed. “That’s portion of why it can be so important with the quarterbacks to have individual time, private exercise sessions, private meetings, to definitely analyze their brain and how they discover.”

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

“Any time I walk earlier a mirror and there is an Expo marker, I’m going to attract on the mirror,” Hooker said. “That is just some thing I delight in undertaking since I enjoy the sport of football.”

Heupel claimed the offense Hooker was asked to run at Tennessee was not as simplistic as it seemed.

“I’m not positive any person in college soccer has far more on their plate than Hendon does,” Heupel claimed. “Then, you toss in the tempo that we participate in at, you have got to be a rapid selection-maker, you have got to recognize defensive composition exceptionally immediately. … He controlled the total video game on just about every solitary play. I feel that places him in a great placement to be in a position to transition at the following amount and cope with all that is coming at him.”

Heupel reported the intangibles such as management and charisma are what will make Hooker somebody’s franchise quarterback.

“I’ve never been about any one that’s been a more robust or a lot more impactful chief than Hendon Hooker is,” Heupel said. “Our method is not the place it’s at these days except if Hendon is a portion of our locker space.”