Hendon Hooker’s Tennessee career has sadly come to an end due to injury

Hendon Hooker tore his ACL in the South Carolina defeat, meaning his Tennessee career is over.

Tennessee’s worst loss of the season was made even worse with the news of Hendon Hooker’s devastating knee injury.

The Tennessee football account confirmed on Sunday afternoon that the Vols’ star quarterback did in fact tear the ACL in his left knee. It looked horrible the instant it happened, as Hooker went down in a non-contact injury late in Saturday night’s road loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks. Since this was his last season of eligibility, the 24-year-old quarterback must prepare for the NFL.

In 11 games this season, Hooker completed 69.6 percent of his passes for 3,135 yards, 27 touchdowns and only two interceptions. The Vols went 9-2 with him as the starter. Although they are out of the College Football Playoff mix now after suffering their second loss of the regular season, there is no question about the direction of the program in year two under Josh Heupel.

Here is to a speedy recovery for one of the greatest players in Tennessee and SEC football history.

Hendon Hooker tears ACL, ending his outstanding college career at Tennessee

What contributed to Hooker becoming such a beloved player in Knoxville was his competitiveness and the journey he had to take to get there. He spent the first half of his college career at Virginia Tech. Hooker transferred to Tennessee after the 2020 college season to play for Jeremy Pruitt. He never got to play a snap for Pruitt, as he was fired for cause well before the start of the offseason.

While Heupel was able to recruit former Michigan quarterback Joe Milton III to Tennessee, it was Hooker who proved everyone wrong with his great play in camp and over the last two seasons. Tennessee is not winning 10 games or sniffing the top 25 without him. He was the type of player who galvanized everyone around him. Players like this do not come around often, so cherish them.

Though losing to South Carolina is awful, the absolute worst part in all this is how this injury could impact Hooker’s 2023 NFL Draft stock. With the No. 3 quarterback spot up for grabs after Alabama’s Bryce Young and Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud in some order, Hooker seized the day to take that draft slot for himself. Had he not torn his ACL, Hooker was probably going inside the top-16…

Given that he is older than most draft entrants because of the COVID season, as well as having to navigate a major lower-body injury, it is hard to see an NFL team using a precious first-round pick on him this spring. Hooker’s arm talent, production and professionalism will have him coming off the board probably in the second or third-round, but this injury will cost him generational wealth.

Ultimately, football is a game of injuries and these sort of things happen. However, college football is having one of its best seasons in years, due in large part to Tennessee’s accession to national prominence behind the play of its Heisman Trophy candidate. Although he is not going to win it now, Hooker had been the favorite to bring home the hardware throughout much of the season.

Hooker is the type of players that Vols fans loved, opponents feared and major rivals respected.

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