Every year it seems like college football fans try to tell themselves that “Tennessee is back”, but for the first time in recent-history Tennessee was actually back. In the 2022 college football season, Hendon Hooker cemented his legacy in Knoxville. He led the Volunteers to a 9-2 record, which included wins over five ranked teams including Alabama, before tearing his ACL. To be direct, the odds of being an NFL starting quarterback aren’t in Hooker’s favor.

While Hooker is a big name in college football, he tore his ACL in November and is already older than Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa, Trevor Lawrence, and Justin Fields. The system that he ran with the Volunteers was a true college-system where he was only asked to be a one-read quarterback. While coach Heupel’s offense is explosive and constantly sets up big plays, there hasn’t been a quarterback who has successfully translated his game into the NFL.

Hooker has prototypical NFL size and mobility, but there is no telling how he is going to recover from surgery. He is a slow processor with a late trigger and an elongated throwing motion. Hooker is an inaccurate passer and benefited from Tennessee’s spread the field offense. He can throw the ball far, but it hangs in the air and he struggles with putting velocity on his passes. I just don’t believe that Hooker reaches the physical or mental standard for him to be an NFL starting quarterback.