Heisman hype
Vols’ Hooker building a résumé worthy of ceremony invite
The Tennessee Volunteers have been eliminated in this season’s chase for the Southeastern Conference championship.
Georgia’s 45-19 win at Mississippi State this past Saturday sealed the second-place fate for the Volunteers in the SEC’s Eastern Division, yet Tennessee remains in the picture for the national title, and sixth-year senior quarterback Hendon Hooker is very much in the picture for the Heisman Trophy.
“He is playing at as high a level as I have ever had anybody play, and I’ve had Heisman guys,” Vols second-year coach Josh Heupel said this week. “He is in complete command of what we are doing. You look at the efficiency of how he is playing, the ability to take care of the football and the dynamic plays that he has made with his arm and with his feet.
“We don’t look like we do offensively without him, so he certainly is deserving of being in that conversation. We have to go play the right way here the last couple of weeks and hope he has that opportunity. I believe he should.”
Heupel was the Heisman Trophy runner-up as Oklahoma’s quarterback in 2000, losing to Florida State quarterback Chris Weinke by a scant 76 total points.
Hooker has just two more stages on which to perform — Saturday night’s game at South Carolina (7 on ESPN) and next week’s game at Vanderbilt (7:30 on the SEC Network) — before this year’s Heisman Trophy balloting is performed. The 6-foot-4, 218-pounder from Greensboro, North Carolina, is among the four favorites, according to the oddsmakers, along with Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud, Michigan running back Blake Corum and North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye.
Stroud took the Heisman lead following Tennessee’s 27-13 loss at Georgia on Nov. 5 and slightly extended it last weekend, though Hooker remains the clear second choice. If Ohio State defeats
rival Michigan on Nov. 26 in a pairing of teams currently 10-0, Stroud would not only have that publicized showdown but the Big Ten championship game on Dec. 3.
No Tennessee player has received an invitation to the Heisman Trophy ceremony in New York City since quarterback Peyton Manning was runner-up to Michigan cornerback Charles Woodson in 1997.
“I’m very blessed to be in this situation, but I wouldn’t be in any of this without my teammates and my coaches,” Hooker said. “I’m really just concentrating on going 1-0 every week, and when people approach me, I have the same answer — ‘We just want to win ball games.’
“Any accolade that comes with that is cool. Making sure we’re winning ball games and continuing to build a brotherhood here at Tennessee is what I’m focused on.”
Hooker received the SEC offensive player of the week award for the third time this season on Monday after completing 25 of 35 passes for 355 yards and three touchdowns in last Saturday’s 66-24 demolishing of Missouri. He has completed 204 of 287 passes (71.1%) this season for 2,888 yards with 24 touchdowns and two interceptions.
His efficiency rating of 181.81 is slightly ahead of his 181.41 clip last year that set Tennessee’s single-season record, and it ranks second nationally to Stroud’s 188.16.
Tennessee leads the nation with 523.7 yards and 47.4 points per game, which are the numbers that mean more to Hooker.
“That’s where all the pride is,” Hooker said. “It’s about the team. It’s not about the individual accolades, because those will come with the success of the team. We’re very blessed to be able to go out there and do what we set out for ourselves earlier this season and being able to attack those goals.
“We strive to get six out of every drive.”
Orange on top
Tennessee revealed plans Tuesday afternoon to wear orange helmets with a white “T” on Saturday night inside Williams-Brice Stadium.
It will be the first time the Vols have worn orange helmets in their history. Tennessee broke out black helmets for the first time Oct. 29, when the Vols routed Kentucky 44-6 inside Neyland Stadium.
The Vols will wear white jerseys and white pants to accompany the orange helmets, marking the seventh different headto-toe combination they will have used in 11 games.
Where’s my plaque?
Junior center Cooper Mays on Monday became Tennessee’s fourth different player to earn SEC offensive lineman of the week.
He was asked Tuesday in a news conference if anything comes with that.
“I don’t really know if there is a plaque or anything,” Mays said. “Maybe at the end of the year. I got a tweet, but that’s about it.”
The Vols are among nine semifinalists for the Joe Moore Award, which is given annually to college football’s top offensive line. Georgia and Ole Miss are the other semifinalists from the SEC.
Surprise teams
Redshirt junior defensive tackle Da’Jon Terry has amassed 11 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss so far in his second season at Tennessee, which includes six consecutive starts. His stint in Knoxville followed two years at Kansas.
The 6-foot-4, 321-pounder from Meridian, Mississippi, was asked Tuesday what led to his change in location.
“I wanted to be closer to my mom,” Terry said. “This is six hours away from home, and when I was at Kansas, it was 12 hours. My two years there, my family only had a chance to go to two games.
“I wanted to be closer so they could come see me play.”
While the Vols have been one of college football’s biggest surprises this season with their 9-1 record, the Jayhawks have surpassed expectations as well with a 6-4 record that includes a 3-4 mark in Big 12 play.
“I watch them every chance I get,” Terry said. “I still have a couple of home boys who go there, and we talk like every two or three weeks.”
A stronger grip
Remember when sophomore running back Jaylen Wright had fumbling issues earlier this season?
They seem to have been remedied in recent weeks.
“He never was able to go through a full-contact practice in camp when you actually have to squeeze the ball and strain,” Tennessee running backs coach Jerry Mack said. “I think the first few games of the season really caught him off guard. Some of those fumbles were just not squeezing the football when you’re out on the perimeter, and some of them were trying to do too much and drain extra yards.”
Wright leads the Vols with 598 yards on 124 carries (4.8 yards per rush) and eight touchdowns.
Making a name
Of the two kickoffs following Tennessee touchdowns that Missouri chose to return last Saturday, both ended in tackles by Vols freshman defensive back Jourdan Thomas.
After Tennessee’s opening score against Kentucky on Oct. 29, the 6-foot-2, 200-pounder from Montgomery, Alabama, stuffed JuTahn McClain for a 4-yard return out to the 17.
“He has made a lot of plays,” Heupel said. “He has defeated blocks and made tackles. He’s good in space. He’s been on those units from the beginning of the season just because of what he did during training camp. He cares. He pays attention. It matters to him, and he competes every single day.
“He’s grown fundamentally, so all those reasons combined with his ability and athleticism led us to believe that he could play at a really high level, and he has.”
Heupel added that freshman linebackers Kalib Perry and Elijah Herring continue to grow and perform well on special teams.
Odds and ends
Hooker, Stroud, Georgia’s Stetson Bennett IV, Oregon’s Bo Nix and TCU’s Max Duggan were announced Tuesday as the five finalists for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. … The Vols hold a 28-10-2 series advantage over South Carolina and have won the past three meetings.