Hendon Hooker

Former quarterback at Tennessee. 2022: 3,135 passing yards, 27 TD, 2 INT.

QB · Tennessee · Sr. · #5

6′4″ · 218 lb · Greensboro, NC

CFB Index 83 · #10 of 140 QBsHigh confidencePOTY finalist (model)Detroit — drafted 2023, Rd 3, Pick 5, #68 overall

The story

Former quarterback at Tennessee. 2022: 3,135 passing yards, 27 TD, 2 INT.

Transferred from Virginia Tech to Tennessee in 2021.
Drafted round 3 by the Detroit in 2023.
Named SEC Offensive Player of the Year in 2022.

His career, year by year

How it ended

Five seasons at Tennessee, 8,976 passing yards, a first-team All-Conference season (2022) — drafted at #68 overall by Detroit.

His career

Nobody recruited him. He earned the honors anyway.

202112 games

Entered the portal

202211 games

All-SECfirst
SEC Offensive Player of the Yearwinner

2023

Drafted by Detroitround 3, pick 68

Career arc

Recruit

—

No recruit profile

CFB

College

2 teams

2018–2022

NFL

NFL Draft

R3 · #68

Detroit · 2023

Trophy case · Confirmed honors

What the selectors said

2 honors · 1 category

🥈

ALL-SEC · 1ST TEAM

All-SEC 1st team (2022)

Featured in The Canon

#67

The 100 Best Players of the CFP Era

Coaching lineage · 2018–2022

2 coaches

2018–2020

Jeremy Pruitt

Tennessee

2021–2022

Josh Heupel

Tennessee

era →

Coaching transition mid-career: Jeremy Pruitt → Josh Heupel. Worth noting in scheme + development context.

Where He Ended Up · NFL

DetroitEntering 4th NFL season

#68Rd 3 · Pick 5

DetroitEntering 4th NFL season

View college career stats ↓

2022 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

2018Virginia Tech6-7HC: Justin Fuente · Run-leaning

2019Virginia Tech8-5HC: Justin Fuente · Run-heavy

2020Virginia Tech5-6HC: Justin Fuente · Run-heavy

2021Tennessee7-6HC: Josh Heupel · Run-heavy, fast tempo

2022Tennessee11-2HC: Josh Heupel · Run-leaning

Where this profile ranks vs the QB cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles

83All-Conference level #10 of 140?

High confidence13 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: success rate (97th percentile). Strength: interception rate (96th percentile). Concern: fumbles lost (18th percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

Success rate#6 / 169 · 97th pct

55.1%

Interception rate#7 / 169 · 96th pct

0.6%

EPA / dropback#17 / 169 · 90th pct

0.42

Explosive rate#48 / 169 · 72nd pct

11.6%

Sack rate#95 / 169 · 44th pct

6.5%

Box-score rates (8)

Yards / att#3 / 177 · 98th pct

9.5

Completion %#9 / 177 · 95th pct

69.6%

Interceptions#10 / 177 · 92nd pct

Pass TDs#18 / 177 · 89th pct

Rush yards#29 / 177 · 84th pct

430

Pass yards#30 / 177 · 83rd pct

3135

Rush TDs#43 / 177 · 73rd pct

Fumbles lost#127 / 169 · 18th pct

Season trend

Last seasonThis season

EPA / dropback

94th → 90th percentile

Success rate

72nd → 97th percentile

Explosive rate

95th → 72nd percentile

Sack rate

7th → 44th percentile

Interception rate

91st → 96th percentile

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).

Passing profile

Pass Profile · Completions by yards gained (PBP)

Adjusted ANY/A, sack rate, and where the yards came from

222/322 (68.9%) · 27 TD · 2 INT

322 of 329 attempts matched to play-by-play

Adjusted ANY/A

9.873 of 206 QBs

Sack rate

6.5%121 of 206 QBs

Sacked on 6.5% of dropbacks (121 of 206) — and still 3 of 206 in Adjusted ANY/A.

Adjusted ANY/A uses full-season box-score totals (attempts, yards, TDs, INTs); sack rate is play-by-play-derived.

Short

0–9 yds

57%of completions

127 comp5.7 yds avg5 TD

Middle

10–19 yds

27%of completions

61 comp14.1 yds avg6 TD

Deep

20+ yds

15%of completions

34 comp37.5 yds avg9 TD

Overall 68.9% completion on 322 attempts · 34 deep completions averaging 37.5 yds.

Splits & context

Splits · Per-game

2022 season · 11 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	YDS/g	TD/g	YPA	INT/g
Home7g	304	2.9	11.7	0.1
Road4g	252	1.8	7.1	0.2

First half vs Second half

	YDS/g	TD/g	YPA	INT/g
Weeks 1-76g	303	2.5	11.2	0.2
Weeks 8+5g	264	2.4	8.6	0.2

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Josh Heupel

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2022

POTY finalist (model)

Our Heisman model has him in the top five; no finalist honor is on the books yet.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

83 · #10 of 140 QBs

Career stats

Season	Team
2022	Tennessee	229	329	69.6%	3,135	9.5	27	2	175.5	87	--	--
2021	Tennessee	206	302	68.2%	2,945	9.8	31	3	182.0	81	--	--
2020	Virginia Tech	97	149	65.1%	1,344	9.0	9	5	154.1	66	--	--
2019	Virginia Tech	98	161	60.9%	1,552	9.6	13	2	166.0	--	--	--
2018	Virginia Tech	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
Career		630	941	67.0%	8,976	9.5	80	12	172.6	80	--	--

Season	Team
2022	Tennessee	104	430	4.1	5	--
2021	Tennessee	167	620	3.7	5	--
2020	Virginia Tech	120	620	5.2	9	--
2019	Virginia Tech	123	356	2.9	5	--
2018	Virginia Tech	4	57	14.2	1	--
Career		518	2,083	4.0	25	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 7 · 2022

W 52–49

vs Alabama

385 yds · 5 TD · 1 INT · QBR 94.3 · 56 rush yds (14 car)

Edged out Alabama at home in a shootout.

With J. Hyatt — 6 rec · 207 yds · 5 TD · C. McGrath — 40 LONG · 100 PCT · 8 PTS

Signature plays

Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|

The plays that mattered most

fact

Week 7 · Alabama · 1&10 · Q4 · EPA +6.27Jalin Hyatt 78 Yd pass from Hendon Hooker (Hendon Hooker Pass to Princeton Fant for Two-Point Conversion)
Week 11 · Missouri · 2&3 · Q3 · EPA +5.47Hendon Hooker pass complete to Jalin Hyatt for 68 yds for a TD, (Chase McGrath KICK)
Week 3 · Akron · 3&4 · Q2 · EPA +5.03Jalin Hyatt 48 Yd pass from Hendon Hooker (Chase McGrath Kick)
Week 9 · Kentucky · 2&6 · Q1 · EPA +4.83Hendon Hooker pass complete to Jalin Hyatt for 55 yds for a TD, (Chase McGrath KICK)
Week 7 · Alabama · 1&10 · Q3 · EPA +4.76Jalin Hyatt 60 Yd pass from Hendon Hooker (Chase McGrath PAT failed)
Week 2 · Pittsburgh · 2&6 · Q2 · EPA +4.56Hendon Hooker pass complete to Cedric Tillman for 61 yds to the PITTSBURGH 1, PITTSBURGH Penalty, Personal Foul (0 Yards) to the Pitt 1 for a 1ST down
Week 3 · Akron · 1&10 · Q2 · EPA +4.47Hendon Hooker pass complete to Jalin Hyatt for 57 yds for a TD, (Chase McGrath KICK)
Week 4 · Florida · 1&10 · Q1 · EPA -4.30Hendon Hooker pass complete to Princeton Fant for 13 yds Princeton Fant fumbled, forced by Ventrell Miller, recovered by Fla Tre'Vez Johnson
Week 4 · Florida · 1&10 · Q2 · EPA +4.19Hendon Hooker pass complete to Bru McCoy for 70 yds to the Fla 5 for a 1ST down
Week 11 · Missouri · 3&11 · Q1 · EPA +4.18Hendon Hooker pass complete to Bru McCoy for 38 yds to the Misso 32 for a 1ST down

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2022 season · 11 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	CMP/ATT	YDS	TD	INT	YPA	QBR	Note
Wk 1	W 59-10vs Ball State	18/25	221	2	0	8.8	79.9
Wk 2	W 34-27@ Pittsburgh	27/42	325	2	0	7.7	82.5	Clean 2-TD game
Wk 3	W 63-6vs Akron	14/18	298	2	0	16.6	88.0	Clean 2-TD game
Wk 4	W 38-33vs Florida	22/28	349	2	0	12.5	96.9	Clean 2-TD game
Wk 6	W 40-13@ LSU	17/27	239	2	0	8.9	92.2
Wk 7	W 52-49vs Alabama	21/30	385	5	1	12.8	94.3	Season-high 385 yds
Wk 8	W 65-24vs UT Martin	18/24	276	3	0	11.5	90.6	3 TD passes
Wk 9	W 44-6vs Kentucky	19/25	245	3	0	9.8	89.9	3 TD passes
Wk 10	L 13-27@ Georgia	23/33	195	0	1	5.9	60.7
Wk 11	W 66-24vs Missouri	25/35	355	3	0	10.1	95.4	3 TD passes
Wk 12	L 38-63@ South Carolina	25/42	247	3	0	5.9	82.9	3 TD passes
Total		229/329	3135	27	2	10.0	86.7

How he plays

Play style

Makes plays with feet when the pocket collapses. Efficiency still on the rise.

CFB Index positional classification

Checkdown vs gunslinger · 3rd-and-long

Where the completions actually land

fact

61.5%Completion %

26.7%Conversion/dropback

50.0%Land short of sticks

0INTs

61.5% completion on 3rd-and-8+, but only 26.7% conversion-per-dropback — 50.0% of completions land short of the sticks.

Where completions land is fact — whether incompletions were aimed deep is intent, not recorded here, so this card counts completions only. ~ our read: checkdown by design