Expect the Hendon Hooker hype machine to get more intense going forward, especially after the quarterback led the Tennessee Volunteers into an upset victory at home last Saturday over the Alabama Crimson Tide, 52-49. Hooker's performance in that Tennessee football win against Nick Saban's squad will favor his stock in the 2023 NFL Draft, though, at least one NFL executive isn't as high on him as most college football fans.

“He’s a really good college quarterback,” an NFC executive said about Hendon Hooker, per Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. “I’m just not sure how much more there is to him than we’ve already seen. He’s older than most other players, in his sixth year, and you wonder if this is as developed as he’ll get.”

In the Alabama game, Hendon Hooker passed for 385 yards and five touchdowns with just an interception on 21-of-30 completions in the face of a sturdy Crimson Tide stop unit. Hooker also rushed for 56 yards on 14 carries. It is easy to get carried away by the exploits of a college football quarterback, but the NFL is an entirely different animal.

“But he’s gotten a lot better over the course of his career,” the exec added in his evaluation of Hendon Hooker. “He’s fun to watch. He’s productive; they’ve done a good job with him. … I think he’s the kind of a guy who can definitely be a quality backup, and when he starts, he looks good, but when teams get more tape on him, he levels off.” Which is to say, at baseline, he’s got a great chance to stick in the league. And maybe do more than that.”

Nevertheless, Hendon Hooker can continue impressing on the field, with Tennessee now climbing into the CFP picture.