Tennessee football senior quarterback Hendon Hooker has met extensively with the Dallas Cowboys and Oakland Raiders during the pre-NFL draft process, according to a Wednesday tweet from the Draft Network NFL and College Football analyst Ryan Fowler.
The Carolina Panthers, New York Giants, and New Orleans Saints were among other NFL teams to meet with the Tennessee football quarterback.
Hendon Hooker is expected to be healthy and ready for training camp after he suffered a torn ACL in his left knee during a November loss to South Carolina. He suffered the injury as he ran an option play, collapsing on the field after he cut towards an open gap in the offensive line. He was taken to the medical tent immediately after, where he would be ruled out for the rest of the game.
The former Virginia Tech transfer earned 3,135 passing yards and 27 touchdowns in his fifth year of eligibility and second year with the Volunteers. He ended the South Carolina loss with 247 passing yards and three touchdowns. Hooker earned his season highs of five touchdowns and 385 passing yards in an October win over the Alabama Crimson Tide, tacking on 56 rushing yards as the Volunteers barely scraped by with a 52-49 win in Neyland Stadium.
Hendon Hooker accepted an invite to the Senior Bowl in late January. Senior Bowl Executive Director Jim Nagy said the bowl usually wouldn't let a player that was injured participate, wrote On3 Tennessee writer Grant Ramey in an early-February article.
“Hendon is a special case,” Nagy said. “He’s a quarterback. The meeting room, the interview time is so important for that position. And Hendon was the talk of college football for about two-thirds of the season. Such a special young guy that we wanted to make that exception.”
Hendon Hooker earned high praise from former Tennessee and NFL quarterback Peyton Manning, who spoke on the 25-year-old quarterback's NFL potential during the 2023 NFL Pro Bowl.
“I think he’ll do well at the next level,” Manning said. “He had an incredible year. Whoever gets him on their roster is going to be lucky.”
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