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Hendon Hooker came to Virginia Tech in the class of 2017 as a four-star quarterback from Greensboro, North Carolina.
After redshirting his first season, Hooker played sparingly as a redshirt freshman in 2018. He originally entered the transfer portal after that season but chose to return to Blacksburg.
It was a good decision for Hooker.
He took over at quarterback in 2019 and led the Hokies to a 6-2 record with him under center. Hooker was a terrific dual-threat quarterback who made big plays and also took care of the football.
Expectations were high for Hooker in 2020, but unfortunately, he missed the first two games due to an illness. Once Hooker came into the game at North Carolina, Virginia Tech’s offense looked unstoppable. He rushed for 164 yards and three touchdowns in the following week’s win over Boston College.
Sadly, the rest of Virginia Tech’s season wouldn’t go quite as smoothly on offense. And Hooker’s play was a microcosm of Virginia Tech’s struggles on offense.
Hooker had the worst game of his career in a loss to Wake Forest. He was intercepted three times by a walk-on freshman linebacker and completed just over 50 percent of his passes in an ugly loss.
Hooker performed well in games against Liberty and Louisville but struggled in contests against Miami and Pittsburgh. In Virginia Tech’s loss to Clemson, Hooker lost two snaps and barely played. He appeared injured in the game and left the game in what looked like a scary situation.
He would not play in the win over Virginia and entered the transfer portal in December.
On Thursday, he announced his intentions to transfer to the University of Tennessee.
Dream chasing is an occupation, those with the job understand the process of manifestation.
— Hendon Hooker (@henhook2) January 7, 2021
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This is a good opportunity for Hooker. All Virginia Tech fans should hope he plays well and makes good on this opportunity. Hooker was an outstanding representative for Virginia Tech both on the field and off the field. He deserved a better outcome than what happened late in the 2020 season.
During his Virginia Tech career, Hooker completed 63 percent of his passes for 2,894 yards with 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also rushed for 1,033 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Best of luck, Hendon. Once a Hokie, always a Hokie.