Hendon Hooker won’t be able to play for Tennessee in the Orange Bowl, but he certainly made fans proud this Friday.
With the Orange Bowl set for this Friday night, Hooker wrote a beautiful letter for Tennessee. He detailed his journey with the Volunteers and all the great moments he had this season.
“I won’t sit here and pretend this season is ending how I hoped it would end … but I’m still very proud of what we accomplished. And when I try to think of a way to put that in words, we matter now is what I keep coming back to. It’s like: If you’re trying to tell the story of this season, you can’t leave Tennessee out. We weren’t unbeatable — but we were most definitely undeniable,” Hooker wrote, via The Players’ Tribune.
Hooker also addressed Tennessee’s win over Alabama in his letter. Of course, Tennessee fans will never forget his performance in that game (385 passing yards and five touchdowns).
“I’ve never felt so proud after a game,” he said. “As soon as it was over I found my parents, and while they’re hugging me my mom starts crying these big old tears and I’m like, ‘Hey, Mom, come on now. We can’t be looking ugly on TV. We gotta tighten up.’ And of course my dad … I just told him, ‘Happy birthday.’
“Getting to celebrate with my teammates, and share that joy with them, that was also very meaningful. A lot of attention has been on me this season, and I’m grateful for it. But the individual stuff is not what I’m about. And what I had most on my mind that night was how so many other guys on our team stepped up.”
Hooker won’t be able to play in the Orange Bowl due to a torn ACL. He finished his final season at Tennessee with 3,135 passing yards and 27 touchdowns.
Joe Milton will start for the Volunteers in the Orange Bowl.
NFL analysts expect Hooker to be a Day 2 pick in the upcoming draft.