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Colts 2023 NFL draft profile: QB Hendon Hooker

cody manning
·12 min read

It’s no secret that the Indianapolis Colts are looking for a new franchise quarterback, and the expectation is that the team will use the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft to complete that search.

With many different opinions on this year’s prospects, we still have no inclination of who will be available when Indy is on the clock on the final Thursday in April.

We’ll be tracking the Colts’ reported interest in the 2023 draft class so be sure to keep up with latest updates via our tracker.

You also can check out scouting reports on the other quarterback prospects in this class:

Let’s get to know Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker and what he can bring to the Circle City:

Background

Alan Hendon Hooker was born in Greensboro, North Carolina on January 13, 1998. His father, Alan Hooker, played quarterback at North Carolina A&T and has been named to their Hall of Fame. His mother’s name is Wendy. His older sister Nile helped Hendon manage his social media presence and his younger brother, Alson, plays quarterback at North Carolina A&T.

High School

Hooker attended James B. Dudley High School in Greensboro. He was a starter for his last three years at the high school level. He played in 41 games. His best season came in his senior year when he threw for 2,652 yards, 28 touchdowns, and five interceptions. He also ran the ball for 1,236 yards and 27 touchdowns. 

In total, Hooker threw for 6,027 yards, 55 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. While running for a total of 2,975 yards and 48 touchdowns. He led his team to two state championships and was named the championship MVP with six touchdowns in 2016. By the end of his high school career, he ended up as their all-time passing leader. He also earned NC Preps Player of the Year in his final season and was named to the AP’s All-State team twice. 

He was also known for his play on the basketball court. He was named as an All-Metro Conference selection three times and scored over 1,000 points.

According to 247sports, Hooker was a four-star recruit, the fifth-ranked dual-threat quarterback, the seventh-best recruit in North Carolina, and the 245th-ranked recruit nationally. He ended up committing to playing college football at Virginia Tech.

College

Hooker played in very limited action in his freshman year. He appeared in three games, didn’t register a pass attempt but ran the ball four times for 57 yards and a touchdown. Four games into the 2019 season, he ended up taking over as the starting quarterback for Virginia Tech. He finished that year throwing the ball for 1,155 yards, 13 touchdowns, and two interceptions. Hooker also ran the ball for 356 yards and five touchdowns. 

2020 was a slight step back for Hooker in his career, he missed the first two games due to an undisclosed reason then played in eight of the nine games he appeared in. He threw for 1,339 yards, nine touchdowns, and five interceptions. His rush total went up with 620 yards and nine touchdowns. He did get benched for the Hookies’ final game that season and Hooker would end up entering the transfer portal. 

He did earn his Bachelor’s Degree in Public Relations during his time at Virginia Tech. Hooker would end up choosing to play the remainder of his college career at Tennessee. He entered 2021 as the backup to Joe Milton, who ended up getting hurt in the second game into the season, and Hooker took over for him and never look back. He appeared in 13 games that season throwing for 2,945 yards, 31 touchdowns, and three interceptions. He had 616 yards and five touchdowns on the ground. 

Hooker put himself on the NFL radar in his final collegiate season. He led Tennessee to one of the best seasons in quite some time before he ended up tearing his ACL late in November. He played in 11 games while throwing for 3,135 yards, 27 touchdowns, and two interceptions. He also ran the ball for 430 yards and five touchdowns. 

He finished fifth in Heisman voting but some wonder if he would’ve been the winner if it wasn’t for his injury abruptly ending his college career. 

Records Hooker broke:

Peyton Manning’s career completion percentage record – Hooker (68.8%)

One of two players in Tennessee’s history to rush for 1,000 yards and throw over 6,000 yards

Most consecutive games with a touchdown pass in Tennessee’s history (19)

Awards and honors that Hooker earned:

2022 SEC Offensive Player of the Year (Associated Press, Coaches, USA TODAY)

2022 All-America Second Team (CBSSports.com/247Sports)

2022 All-America Third Team (Associated Press)

2022 All-SEC First Team (Associated Press, Coaches, USA TODAY)

2022 Maxwell Award Finalist

2022 Walter Camp Player of the Year Finalist

2022 Manning Award Finalist

2022 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Finalist

2022 Davey O’Brien Award Semifinalist

2022 Jason Witten Man of the Year Semifinalist

2021 Davey O’Brien Award Semifinalist

2021 All-SEC Fourth Team (Phil Steele)

2021-22 First-Year SEC Academic Honor Roll

Injury History

Preseason COVID-19 testing revealed an unrelated health issue that required immediate medical attention. Virginia Tech didn’t disclose his medical issue due to student privacy. Missed the first two games of the 2020 season following this.

Suffered his torn ACL in the second to last game of the 2022 season.

NFL Combine

Measurements

Height: 6’ 3’’

Weight: 217

Arm Length: 33’’

Hand Size: 10 1/2’’

To no surprise, Hooker was unable to test or throw at the NFL combine due to his torn ACL. Outside of his medical testing, the most important aspect he was able to address was in his interviews.

He did address the concerns over him not going through his progressions:

He mentioned in this interview that his goal is to be ready to play by training camp:

Outside of media interviews, Bruce Feldman from The Athletic gave some insight from Hooker’s interviews with teams from an NFL coach. The coach told Feldman the following:

“Hendon was great. He is trending to overtake Will Levis on my rankings. Will is more talented as far as arm strength and size, but I think Hendon might run faster, he’s more nimble and has more throws in his arm. He was so mature. He remembered both offenses, from Tennessee and from Virginia Tech, in such detail. He talked about the route depths and the reasonings behind certain things. He was very even keel. I would be shocked if he doesn’t make it in some capacity.”

Pro Day

Obviously, Hooker was also unable to perform at his Pro Day, but it was promising to see him out on the field playing catch with his Tennessee teammates:

He also spoke during his Pro Day and stated that his doctor told him that he will be ready by the start of the season:

Random Nugget

Hooker created a book with his brother Alston called The ABCs of Scripture for Athletes. It is his goal to be a positive influence in the lives of kids in his community. The book uses a sports-themed alphabet to help kids learn scripture.

Scouting Report

Hooker comes in as an interesting prospect after showing growth as a quarterback after transferring to Tennessee. He plays the position with intelligence, he understands the offense and where the ball needs to go with proper timing. There is a concern that he wasn’t required to fully go through his progressions and how he will be able to handle that with the speed of an NFL defense. 

His mechanics are very solid and compact, he has a quick release, and his ball placement is what coaches want in a quarterback because he rarely puts it in a position for a defender to make a play on the ball. Even though he didn’t fully go through his progressions as mentioned, he will wait for his man to fully get through his route so he can deliver it stride for yards after the catch. 

What makes Hooker valuable is his dual-threat ability. He can handle designed quarterback runs, understands how to use his blockers to create rushing lanes, and has the strength to power through weak tackle attempts. He understands when to go down but needs to do it at a better rate at the next level because sometimes he would put his body on the line when he didn’t need to. 

His pocket presence is adequate. He has his moments where he will step up in the pocket to deliver the throw and when to extend the play outside to give his receivers more time or to take off for the first down. Then he has his moments where he has a poor feel for the rush and just gets leveled. This has resulted in fumbles. This also would happen when he was running the ball. He will need to work on that. 

A couple of things that will need to be addressed in his game include his throws on the run. His accuracy tends to drop off when he’s making throws outside the hashes when his feet aren’t set. Another would be getting better at dropping the ball in a bucket. He can do it but needs to do it at a consistent rate because he had times when he led his receiver too much and the ball would sail out of their reach. 

Year 1 will be dependent on where he is at in his recovery from his torn ACL. He will be nine months away from the injury at the start of the season so he could be ready to play but teams may not want to rush him. By the halfway point, if the current starter isn’t up to par then it would be best served to get him on the field, especially since he will be a 25-year-old rookie. I can see him having success in the back half of his first season if he lands with a team that has receivers that suits his style of play. 

By Year 3, if he continues his development then he can turn into a quality starter for a team, and put together some Pro-Bowl caliber seasons.

Projection: Late First Round or Second Round Pick

Shane Steichen’s valued QB traits

Steichen mentioned earlier this offseason about the traits he looks for in young quarterbacks. “I think accuracy, decision-making, and the ability to create are the three things that I look at in a quarterback,” Steichen said. “I think those all three things are very important but obviously, above the neck, the players that I’ve been around – Jalen Hurts, Justin Herbert, and Philip Rivers, they all have one thing in common. They’re obsessed with their craft. If you can find that in a quarterback, you’ll probably have some success.”

Accuracy: Hooker is a very accurate thrower when the timing is right within the offense but will need to improve his throws on the run and better touch on deep shots so he can make an offense more explosive. 

Decision Making: He makes the right decisions about where to go with the ball or to take off on the run but he will have to prove he can fully go through his progressions when the speed of an NFL defense is coming at him. 

Ability to Create: His athleticism is what can be intriguing for a team. He can be used to create yards on the ground, and he understands how he can use it to his advantage when extending plays. If he does improve as a thrower on the run then that will make him much more of a threat at the next level. 

Hooker meets the threshold of traits that Steichen is looking for in a quarterback. The question though is what will the Colts do with their plan to draft their next franchise quarterback? As a 25-year-old rookie coming off an ACL tear, he shouldn’t go at No. 4 overall, so will Indianapolis possibly select a different position, then take Hooker at No. 35, or trade back into the end of the first round so they have the fifth-year option on his contract? It will be interesting to see how it that plays out.

Story originally appeared on Colts Wire