Volunteers seek first SEC home win
VT transfer Hooker ready to go as starting QB now
Tennessee football returns to Neyland Stadium for its SEC home opener after back-to-back road games to open the conference slate.
Tennessee (3-2, 1-1 SEC) hosts South Carolina (3-2, 0-2) on Saturday (noon ET, SEC Network).
Here is what you need to know about the matchup:
The answer, my friends, is Hooker
Tennessee’s quarterback position is finally settled after a battle dating back to the spring. Hendon Hooker is Tennessee’s starter, claiming the spot after starting the past three games.
The Virginia Tech graduate transfer has completed 68.5% of his passes for 838 yards and 10 touchdowns with one interception. He accounted for four touchdowns in two of his three starts.
Hooker was 15-for-19 passing for 225 yards and three touchdowns at Missouri to win the Manning Award Quarterback of the Week.
He also rushed 15 times for 80 yards and a touchdown.
Joe Milton, a Michigan transfer, had started the first two games of the season.
South Carolina has a probable first-rounder getting after QBS
South Carolina features a projected NFL first-round pick in Kingsley Enagbare. The senior, who plays a hybrid defensive line/linebacker position, had 17 tackles for loss and 101⁄2 sacks entering the season.
The 6-foot-4, 265-pound Enagbare is the No. 2 rated edge defender nationally this season, according to PFF. He is the top-rated pass rusher at the position. PFF credits Enagbare with 20 quarterback pressures through five games, including having hit the quarterback nine times.
He’s the leader of a veteran Gamecocks defensive front, which includes five seniors and a junior.
Running back order switching up for Vols
Tennessee’s top two running backs have been the same throughout the season with Tiyon Evans and Jabari Small.
But the third back switched against Missouri. Redshirt freshman Len’neth Whitehead entered after Small departed with an undisclosed injury. He rushed for 76 yards on nine carries and was named the SEC co-freshman of the week.
Whitehead had only rushed for 23 yards on five carries this season. Whitehead was on the outside looking in through most of the first four games, but he jumped up the depth chart.
Jaylen Wright, who entered the season as the third running back, was the fifth to get carries. Walk-on Marcus Pierce played before Wright.
All eyes on turnovers
South Carolina is the SEC’S best defense at forcing turnovers and one of the best nationally. The Gamecocks have nine interceptions, tops in the SEC and third nationally.
They are tied with Alabama atop the SEC with a plus-five turnover margin.
Tennessee has taken exceptional care of the football in the past two weeks. Hooker had a pair of fumbles in his first two games, but has been sound in the past two. He has not thrown an interception since the fourth quarter against Pittsburgh on Sept. 11.
Defensively, UT has six interceptions in the past three games. The Vols had two interceptions against Missouri.
First-year head coaches, Oklahoma ties
Josh Heupel and Shane Beamer are two of the four first-year head coaches in the SEC. Auburn’s Brian Harsin and Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea round out the new members of the fraternity. Beamer is also a first-time head coach. He was hired by South Carolina after it fired Will Muschamp in November.
Beamer and Heupel held roles at Oklahoma during their careers. Heupel, who was a standout QB for the Sooners, was on staff in Norman from 2006-14. Beamer was the associate head coach and tight ends coach on Lincoln Riley’s staff from 2018-20.
Prediction
Tennessee 38, South Carolina 20: Tennessee has settled in offensively. South Carolina doesn’t score enough nor does it stop the run well enough to keep up with the Vols.