Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker has torn ACL, ending his college career

The fears about the severity of Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker’s injury were confirmed on Sunday.

The university announced that Hooker tore the ACL in his left knee in Saturday’s loss to South Carolina. The injury will cause a premature ending to the collegiate career of Hooker, a sixth-year senior.

Hooker was injured in the fourth quarter on Saturday night in Columbia. He fell to the ground without contact and immediately grabbed at his left knee. After several moments on the field, Hooker limped to the sideline and into the locker room. He did not return to the game, a stunning 63-38 loss for the fifth-ranked Volunteers.

Before the injury, Hooker was in the midst of an All-American-caliber season. He helped Tennessee win its first eight games and vault to No. 1 in the season’s initial College Football Playoff rankings. Included in that run was a massive upset over Alabama at Neyland Stadium that vaulted Hooker into the Heisman Trophy conversation.

Tennessee has subsequently lost two of its last three but was still heavily in the CFP conversation before Saturday night’s loss.

For the season, Hooker has thrown for 3,135 yards and 27 touchdowns with only two interceptions. He also has 430 yards and five scores on the ground.

Hooker opened the 2021 season as Tennessee’s backup after transferring in from Virginia Tech. Early in that season, he emerged as the starter and put up strong numbers in Josh Heupel’s offense. For the year, Hooker threw for 2,945 yards and 31 touchdowns with just three INTs to go with 616 yards and five touchdowns rushing.

Before transferring to Tennessee, Hooker spent four seasons at Virginia Tech. After redshirting his first season and playing sparingly in 2019, Hooker was in and out of the lineup as the Hokies' starter throughout 2019 and 2020. He threw for 2,894 yards and 22 touchdowns at Virginia Tech, but decided to transfer when the coaches opted to prioritize another quarterback.

He found the right home in Knoxville and will go down in Tennessee lore as the quarterback that helped revitalize a program mired in losing.

“Forever a Tennessee legend and the ultimate teammate, we know Hendon will come back stronger than ever as he embarks on a promising NFL future,” said a statement from Tennessee football.

Without Hooker, Tennessee will close out its regular season on the road vs. Vanderbilt on Saturday. Joe Milton will likely get the start at quarterback for the Vols.