After losing J.T. Shrout to Colorado State via the transfer portal, the Tennessee Volunteers have added a new signal caller to the roster. On Thursday, former Virginia Tech quarterback Hendon Hooker announced his transfer to Tennessee on social media.
Hooker tweeted out a graphic of himself wearing a Tennessee uniform with Neyland Stadium in the background. Hooker also included the caption, “Dream chasing is an occupation, those with the job understand the process of manifestation. Committed.”
Back in December, the former Hokies quarterback announced that he was entering the NCAA Transfer Portal. A former 247Sports Composite four-star recruit, Hooker started 15 games for Virginia Tech during the 2019 and 2020 seasons, throwing for 2,894-yards and 22 touchdowns to seven interceptions. He added 1,033 career rushing yards, averaging 4.2 yards-per-attempt, and 15 touchdowns on the ground.
Hooker split time during the 2020 football season with Oregon transfer Braxton Burmeister. Due to a medical issue, Hooker was unable to begin the season as the starting quarterabck at Virginia Tech, missing the first two contests of the year against NC State and Duke. Hooker returned to action in Week 3 during Virginia Tech’s 56-45 loss to North Carolina. Following Week 3, Hooker returned to the starting lineup, starting 7 of the remaining 8 games on Virginia Tech’s schedule.
The Volunteers do have some spots to fill in the quarterback room, even with highly touted true freshman Kaidon Salter getting to campus this fall. Just last month, Jarrett Guarantano announced that he wouldn’t be returning to Knoxville for another season. He will either use his last year of eligibility elsewhere or declare for the 2021 NFL Draft.
In 41 career games at Tennessee, Guarantano, who signed with the Vols as part of their 2016 recruiting class for Butch Jones, passed for 6,174 yards with 38 touchdown passes and 17 interceptions along with five rushing touchdowns. His career with the Vols was defined by his ups and downs and his perseverance through a remarkable amount of adversity. He played for two different head coaches, four different offensive coordinators and four different position coaches in his five seasons at Tennessee.
