Hendon Hooker (hell of a name, right?) from Tennessee. Transfer from Greg in LI's favorite school, Virginia Tech.
He was subpar at Va Tech, but he's been absolutely dynamite for the Vols. He beat out former Michigan QB Joe Milton III for the starting job and hasn't looked back. He's 6'4 with a good arm and crazy athleticism (see the clip). 24 TDs, 3 INTs, 68% completion percentage in the hardest conference in college football. In five games against ranked opponents, he has 11 TDs with only two INTs.
Someone to keep an eye on.
There are a few decent QB options in the 2022 Draft, but no one I would take in the first round. I think Matt Corral is the best QB prospect right now, but I'm not in love with him. Malik Willis is all tools, but he's a major project. I think Kenny Pickett and Sam Howell have limited upside.
But guys like Desmond Ridder, Carson Strong, Phil Jurkovic and the aforementioned Hooker would be decent Late Day-2/Day-3 options. I still would go into next season with DJ as the starting QB (don't pick up his option), but spending a draft choice on a QB project wouldn't be the worst thing...as long as it's not a first round pick.
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I wouldn’t put a Hooker near Kitchens!
So he could be a very interesting project. Has played pretty damn well against good teams. Look at his numbers versus Bama, Kentucky and even Georgia.