By BJ Bennett
SouthernPigskin.com

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Hooker has quickly emerged as one of the best quarterbacks in all of college football.

Hendon Hooker has brought stability to the Tennessee quarterback position. He has quickly emerged as one of the best quarterbacks in all of college football. The Volunteers, after 683 yards and 62 points in Saturday’s rout of Missouri, now rank in the top four in the SEC in total offense and scoring. Individually, Hooker slots second in the league in passer rating, trailing only Alabama’s Bryce Young.

In fact, there are just five quarterbacks in the country with a passer rating of at least 182: Grayson McCall, Kenny Pickett, Malik Willis, Young and Hooker. Furthermore, the senior, who took over as Tennessee’s starter in game three, is the only Power Five signal caller nationally with a minimum of ten passing touchdowns and 200 yards rushing. This millennium in the SEC, only four quarterbacks have had a passer rating of at least 182, with ten passing scores and 200 yards rushing through five games: Cam Newton, Johnny Manziel, Tim Tebow and Hooker; the other three would go on to win the Heisman and be first-round NFL Draft picks.

Simply put, Hooker was nearly-perfect at Missouri. He completed 15-of-19 passes for 225 yards and three touchdowns, adding 80 more yards and another touchdown rushing. As a result, the Volunteers scored on their first nine drives of the game, had their highest-scoring first half since 2000 and rushed for over 400 yards for the first time since 1994. Tennessee scored the most points of any team in college football in week five; all in a conference road game.

Success is nothing new for Hooker, who scored 37 total touchdowns as a multi-year starter at Virginia Tech before transferring to Knoxville. Emerging from a very competitive quarterback competition, he has proven to be a great fit for the fast-paced offense of head coach Josh Heupel and coordinator Alex Golesh. Hooker now has ten passing touchdowns compared to just one interception, two more rushing touchdowns, a 68.5% completion percentage and is averaging 9.4 yards per attempt. The Volunteers have scored 56 points or more in two of his three starts.

Despite mostly modest outside expectations, a win this weekend against South Carolina would move Tennessee to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the SEC. Hooker is leading the Volunteers forward. He and his team will soon be directly in the national spotlight as Tennessee will start off the second half of the season with consecutive games against Ole Miss, at Alabama, at Kentucky and Georgia; each of those opponents, currently a combined 18-1, are ranked in the national top 17.

College football’s focus will soon be on Heupel, Hooker and the Volunteers; it’s an opportunity they are earning each week.

At this point, Hooker ranks in the top five in the SEC in quarterback rating, passing touchdowns, completion percentage, yards per attempt, and rushing yards by a quarterback. Few in the country have been more efficient or effective this season. He is just now settling in. Expect more of the same from Tennessee moving forward. Hooker and the Volunteers should only continue to get better with more time together and more time in the system.

With the momentum of one of their best offensive performances in recent memory, the Volunteers are well on their way. Hooker is a big reason why.