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"At the beginning of the 2021 season, Tennessee's offense looked nothing like the elite unit it would to close the year.
Joe Milton III was the starting quarterback, and little-known redshirt junior receiver Cedric Tillman was an offensive afterthought.
Flash forward to the season's second game against Pittsburgh when an ineffective Milton went out with an injury, and Hendon Hooker replaced him. Ultimately, the Virginia Tech transfer wound up being the ideal guy to run first-year coach Josh Heupel's offense and never relinquished the gig.
Hooker finished the year with 2,945 passing yards, 31 touchdowns and just three interceptions. He added 620 rushing yards and five more scores and went from backup to one of the top playmakers in the SEC.
His top target emerged, too. Though Velus Jones, Jaylin Hyatt and JaVonta Payton had strong years, too, the Vols' best pass-catcher wound up being Tillman. The wideout from Las Vegas became one of the top deep threats in the country, finishing the year with 64 catches for 1,081 yards and 12 touchdowns.
After gaining just 78 yards in the season's first three games, Tillman and Hooker clicked, and he had huge games in some of UT's biggest showdowns—against Alabama, Georgia and in the Music City Bowl game against Purdue. Now, they're both back, and they could be one of the top tandems in the country.
With Heupel calling the shots and the familiarity between those two, big numbers should follow on Rocky Top."
7. Hendon Hooker and Cedric Tillman, Tennessee Volunteers
"At the beginning of the 2021 season, Tennessee's offense looked nothing like the elite unit it would to close the year.
Joe Milton III was the starting quarterback, and little-known redshirt junior receiver Cedric Tillman was an offensive afterthought.
Flash forward to the season's second game against Pittsburgh when an ineffective Milton went out with an injury, and Hendon Hooker replaced him. Ultimately, the Virginia Tech transfer wound up being the ideal guy to run first-year coach Josh Heupel's offense and never relinquished the gig.
Hooker finished the year with 2,945 passing yards, 31 touchdowns and just three interceptions. He added 620 rushing yards and five more scores and went from backup to one of the top playmakers in the SEC.
His top target emerged, too. Though Velus Jones, Jaylin Hyatt and JaVonta Payton had strong years, too, the Vols' best pass-catcher wound up being Tillman. The wideout from Las Vegas became one of the top deep threats in the country, finishing the year with 64 catches for 1,081 yards and 12 touchdowns.
After gaining just 78 yards in the season's first three games, Tillman and Hooker clicked, and he had huge games in some of UT's biggest showdowns—against Alabama, Georgia and in the Music City Bowl game against Purdue. Now, they're both back, and they could be one of the top tandems in the country.
With Heupel calling the shots and the familiarity between those two, big numbers should follow on Rocky Top."
