Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker has said he wants to be a coach when his playing days are done. That means he can spot a coachable player a mile away.
“They’re very coachable,” Hooker said when asked about Georgia’s defense this season. “You can see. They match the scheme that has been at Georgia for years. They play extremely hard, fly to the ball and are instinctive. I’m looking forward to going out there and competing at a high level.”
The Bulldogs may be too coachable. Despite losing eight starters from their defense last season, Georgia’s allows 177 yards per game passing, which is second best in the SEC. The Vols 353 yard passing per game is tops in the SEC. Whichever team wins that battle could win the game.
Playing at a high tempo, which Tennessee prides itself on, should certainly help the Vols. After losing so many bona fide players, there’s no way that Georgia’s defense can be as deep as it was last season.
“When we see someone getting tired and their body language is showing that they’re fatigued, we just want to increase our tempo even more,” Hooker said. “Any time we get that opportunity, we’re going to take it.”
The Vols have certainly done that. Sometimes, they’ve done so well at playing fast, they’ve actually surprised themselves.
“Sometimes it’s like, “Wow, no way they left him open like that,’” Hooker said.
Georgia has a tough challenge on Saturday. The Bulldogs, with 1.25 per game, are last in the SEC in sacks. If they don’t apply more pressure to Hooker, he could continue to exploit Georgia just like he has every other team the Vols have played this season.
“First things first, you have to be able to communicate at a high level to make sure everybody is on the same page so that when we’re moving fast, we’re moving efficiently as well,” Hooker said. “I just want to get the ball to the playmakers and let them do what they do. That’s my only job, outside of being a great leader.”
Communication may be tougher than it has been all season for the Vols. Tennessee played at Pittsburgh with a significant number of fans in the stands that were clad in orange. The Vols played at LSU at 11:00 CST when many Tigers’ fans were still reeling off a foggy Friday night.
Athens will be different. The most hyped game of the season will be No. 1 versus No. 2 at 3:30 EST and Georgia fans will be ready to see how coachable Hooker can be if things go awry for the Vols.
