On Thursday night in Kansas City, 31 names will be called, 31 childhood dreams will be realized and 31 lives will be changed forever in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Former Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker hopes he’s among them. (There aren’t 32 picks — the total number of NFL teams — because Miami violated tampering rules.)
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Hooker quarterbacked the No. 1 scoring offense in all of college football a season ago at 46.1 points per game. He led the Volunteers to an 11-2 record, including wins against Alabama and Clemson in the Orange Bowl.
In the process, he tossed 27 touchdowns and only two interceptions while completing 69.6% of his passes. For his efforts, he earned first-team All-SEC and SEC Player of the Year honors, and his name subsequently skyrocketed on many draft boards.
Path to the Draft ➡️ @henhook2 #NFLVols | #GBO 🍊 pic.twitter.com/MEgDMaj29J
— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) April 21, 2023
Some experts have Hooker ranked as the third-best quarterback available behind Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud, while others have him being selected near the end of the second round.
A possible reason for such diverse opinions on Hooker’s potential as an NFL prospect is how his college career came to an end: limping off the field in a loss to South Carolina on Nov. 19 after an injury that was later revealed to be an ACL tear.
Although injury concerns swirl around the 25-year-old Hooker before this weekend’s draft, Hooker himself is seeking to tune out the noise and rest in his firm foundation of faith in Christ.
“When I step onto the field, I’m not worried about anything because I’m really playing for an audience of One, and that’s God,” he said on Sports Spectrum’s “Weekly Slant” in December 2021, following his first season at Tennessee after four at Virginia Tech.
“That’s something that the guys in our Bible study and in our community here at Tennessee, it’s something that we pride ourselves in … trying to play for an audience of One and not letting anything else — any outside obstacles — get in the way.”
The Greensboro, North Carolina, native grew up attending church regularly with his parents and two siblings, yet it wasn’t until college that he says his faith matured into what it is now. He attended Fellowship of Christian Athletes events while in school, prayed after practices and often encouraged teammates in one-on-one conversations about faith.
Hooker has also been known to share about his faith on Instagram and Twitter, where both of his bios state, “Giving him all the Glory.”
Thank you God for blessing me. My faith in you will forever be unsinkable.
— Hendon Hooker (@henhook2) January 30, 2021
In 2021, Hooker and his brother, Alston, released a faith-based comic book tailored toward young athletes called “The ABC’s of Scripture for Athletes.” It’s filled with some of the brothers’ favorite Bible passages.
“These few scriptures will give athletes or anyone a foundation of God’s word to live in their hearts,” the book’s website reads. “We encourage you to read them repeatedly until they become an extension of your daily conversation as you pursue what you love.”
Then in February 2022, Hooker was interviewed by the pastor of First Baptist Church in Morristown, Tennessee, Dean Haun. There, Hooker revealed that he and his brother were inspired to write the book because they wanted to see their young cousin grow in his own relationship with Christ.
Hooker also said that his dad taught him at a young age, through various youth-group games at their church, that “I can use the game to get the message out there and spread the Word of Jesus Christ.”
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As he said on the “Weekly Slant,” “I feel like my time here at Tennessee has taught me that when you trust in God and you put the work in, then anything is possible, and that God will always have your back.”
So as his NFL draft experience begins on Thursday, with uncertainty about where or even when he’ll be picked, Hooker can find peace in the knowledge that his Heavenly Father will be with him every step of the way.
The first round of the draft is set to begin on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET. Rounds 2 and 3 will be on Friday, followed by Rounds 4-7 on Saturday.
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