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Tennessee Football: 2021’s Three Biggest Surprises

By Kathryn Rose

Tennessee Head Coach Josh Heupel reacts to a call in overtime at the 2021 Music City Bowl NCAA college football game at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn. on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021.Kns Tennessee Purdue
Tennessee Head Coach Josh Heupel reacts to a call in overtime at the 2021 Music City Bowl NCAA college football game at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn. on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021.Kns Tennessee Purdue /
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Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker (5) throws during the second quarter of the Music City Bowl, Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021, at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.
Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker (5) throws during the second quarter of the Music City Bowl, Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021, at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. /

Hendon Hooker: The Perfect Heupel Quarterback

Exiting the 2020 season, Hendon Hooker was a pretty good quarterback at Virginia Tech. He’d played 18 games for the Hokies in 2019 and 2020, and was pretty capable with both his arm and his legs, throwing for over nine yards an attempt and running for 620 yards in his last season with the Hokies.

In hindsight, Hooker’s talent was obvious. But, for Josh Heupel, it wasn’t enough at first. Joe Milton, the Michigan transfer with the big arm, won the job and started the first two games of the year.

But, during the second game against Pitt, Milton got injured and in came Hooker. The offense was clearly more dynamic and showed more punch under Hooker’s direction in that game, and he won the starting job for the rest of the season.

What followed was someone who showed he was the perfect quarterback for Heupel’s offense. He threw for nearly 3,000 yards on nearly 10 yards per pass attempt and had 31 touchdowns compared to a mere 3 interceptions. Rushing-wise, he made himself known there too, going for 620 yards and 5 touchdowns on the ground.

No Hendon Hooker, no Vol success on offense.

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