2022 Davey O’Brien Award Watch List
FORT WORTH, Texas — The Davey O’Brien Foundation announced Tuesday that Tennessee redshirt senior quarterback Hendon Hooker has been named to the 2022 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award preseason watch list. UT’s veteran signal caller is one of 35 quarterbacks on the initial list and one of seven from the Southeastern Conference to be recognized by the foundation.
The Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award is presented annually to the nation’s best college quarterback and is the oldest and most prestigious national quarterback award. The 46th Annual Davey O’Brien Awards Dinner honoring the winner will be held Monday, Feb. 20, 2023, at The Fort Worth Club in Fort Worth, Texas.
A 2021 Davey O’Brien Award semifinalist, Hooker shattered single-season program records for completion percentage (68.0) and passer efficiency rating (181.4) last fall in his debut season on Rocky Top. The Greensboro, North Carolina, native produced 3,561 yards of total offense and 36 total touchdowns during the 2021 campaign, his first at UT after transferring to Knoxville from Virginia Tech.
Hooker played in all 13 games with 11 starts in 2021, completing 206-of-303 passes for 2,945 yards and 31 touchdowns with three interceptions. His 2,945 passing yards were fourth-most in the SEC, while his 9.7 yards per passing attempt ranked second in the league and fourth in the nation.
The redshirt senior stamped his breakout 2021 season with a career outing in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl against Purdue. He accounted for five passing touchdowns and 437 total offensive yards, both setting UT bowl records, while completing 26-of-42 passes for a career-best 378 passing yards.
The official Davey O’Brien Midseason Watch List will be released on Tuesday, Oct. 18, and will contain all active quarterbacks from the Preseason Watch List, all players honored as a weekly Great 8 recipient through the season’s first seven weeks and any additional quarterbacks approved by the selection subcommittee.
The Midseason Watch List will then be pared down to the 35-player Davey O’Brien QB Class of 2022 on Tuesday, Oct. 25. Fan voting on social media (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) will again play a role in the semifinalist, finalist and winner voting totals when combined with the national selection committee’s ballots. Voting will begin on Oct. 25.
Sixteen semifinalists selected from the QB Class will be named on Tuesday, Nov. 8. The Foundation will announce the three finalists two weeks later (Monday, Nov. 21). The 2022 Davey O’Brien Award winner will be unveiled live on ESPN on Thursday, Dec. 8, during The Home Depot College Football Awards.
Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning is the only Vol to ever win the Davey O’Brien Award, doing so in 1997. Heath Shuler and Manning were each named finalists for the award in 1993 and 1995, respectively, while Erik Ainge was tabbed a semifinalist in 2006.
2022 Tennessee Football Preseason Honors
R-Sr. LB Jeremy Banks
Lott Trophy Watch List
All-SEC Second Team (Athlon)
All-SEC Fourth Team (Phil Steele)
Jr. DL Tyler Baron
All-SEC Third Team (Athlon)
Sr. P Paxton Brooks
All-SEC Third Team (Athlon, Phil Steele)
Sr. OL Jerome Carvin
All-SEC Third Team (Athlon)
All-SEC Fourth Team (Phil Steele)
Sr. DB Trevon Flowers
All-SEC Fourth Team (Athlon)
R-Sr. QB Hendon Hooker
Davey O’Brien Award Watch List
Maxwell Award Watch List
All-SEC Second Team (Athlon, Phil Steele)
Jr. RB Jabari Small
All-SEC Third Team (Phil Steele)
All-SEC Fourth Team (Athlon)
R-Sr. WR Cedric Tillman
Maxwell Award Watch List
Third-Team All-American (Athlon, Phil Steele)
All-SEC First Team (Athlon, Phil Steele)
Sr. OL Darnell Wright
All-SEC Third Team (Phil Steele)
All-SEC Fourth Team (Athlon)
Sr. DL/LB Byron Young
All-SEC First Team (Athlon)
All-SEC Second Team (Phil Steele)
-UT Athletics
