NEW ORLEANS – After a historic offensive output that saw the Tennessee offense rattle off 62 points and 683 yards of total offense in a 62-24 rout of Missouri, quarterback Hendon Hooker was named a Manning Award Star of the Week by the Allstate Sugar Bowl.
Hooker and the Tennessee offense excelled from the jump, marching 57 yards in only 1:17 to score on their first possession. The veteran signal caller found JaVonta Payton on a seam route down the left side and floated a perfect ball to him to kick off a stellar afternoon of football for the Orange and White.
In his third start, the Greensboro, North Carolina, native connected on 15 of his 19 passes, totaling 225 yards and three touchdowns. He has thrown multiple touchdown passes in four consecutive games and has 645 yards, eight touchdowns and no interceptions since taking over the starting duties against Tennessee Tech on Sept. 18. Hooker is now 2-1 as a starter with Tennessee and the offense has averaged 44.0 points per game and 507.7 yards per game in those three contests.
On top of a strong game passing, Hooker made it happen with his legs, contributing to the third-best rushing attack in a game in school history and best since 1951. The Volunteers posted 458 yards on the ground and five touchdowns. Hooker tallied a season-high 80 rushing yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.
College football fans can now go to the Allstate Sugar Bowl Facebook page to vote for what they think was the best performance from this past weekend. When voting closes on Thursday at noon ET, the top vote-getter will be announced as the Manning Award Quarterback of the Week. Click here to VOTE.
The complete list of Manning Award Stars of the Week can be seen HERE.
Hooker was also named a College Football Performance Awards Honorable Mention National Performer of the Week on Sunday.
The Vols will look to keep things rolling when they return home to take on South Carolina this Saturday at noon ET inside Neyland Stadium. Tickets for Saturday’s contest can be purchased by visiting AllVols.com.
Manning Award Stars of the Week
-UT Athletics
