The following is a series comparing former Tennessee players who recently took part in the NFL combine to former UT standouts.
Hendon Hooker’s play last season may not have quite proven championship worthy. However, he has naturally drawn comparisons to one of Tennessee’s all-time greats that did indeed win a national title.
All one has to do is watch Hooker’s beautiful deep passes or see him dart for a much-needed first down with his running ability and it’s hard not to think of a quarterback that led the Vols to the ultimate goal.
Tee Martin
It’s fun to imagine what Martin might have done in Tennessee coach Josh Heupel’s system. Martin spent much of his career as a Vol being a good soldier. He waited behind Peyton Manning for a season when Manning surprisingly decided to return for his senior season in 1997. Martin never complained. In fact, Martin said competing with Manning would just make the Alabama native better. That selflessness sounds very familiar, maybe Hooker like? Martin was also willing to run a scaled-down offense in 1998 to capitalize on the Vols’ strengths, which were a stout running game and an even stouter defense. Martin never complained. That sounds familiar as well.
Hooker never liked to talk about himself when he played at UT. In fact, his press conferences were a bit boring. He was fine being a part of the public image of the Tennessee football program – not the face of it – even though he was an immensely important leader behind the scenes. The same could easily be said of Martin in 1998 and 1999, the two years he was the starter after Manning headed off to the NFL.
Martin was patient, like Hooker, who transferred from Virginia Tech then wasn’t able to secure the starting position at Tennessee in 2021. Both quarterbacks got better even when they weren’t actually playing. Then, there’s the physical ability.
Martin and Hooker would be right at the top the list of quarterbacks in Tennessee history who could throw a perfect deep ball. And as for timely gains on the ground, both could do that too. Neither would be considered elite running quarterbacks, but Martin and Hooker were plenty good enough to keep defenders mindful of what could happen if they went unchecked.
There aren’t many quarterbacks to lead Tennessee to a national championship. No, Hooker didn’t do that as Martin did. However, Hooker faced an equally challenging task. Instead of leading the Vols to a national title, he led Tennessee back to national relevance.
What former Vols do other NFL prospects from Tennessee compare to? Here is a Volunteer side-by-side with Byron Young, Cedric Tillman, Darnell Wright and Jalin Hyatt.
