Former Dudley High School football star Hendon Hooker could be first-round NFL Draft pick

Former Dudley High School football star Hendon Hooker could be first-round pick
from www.myfox8.com….CLICK HERE to check out the Hendon Hooker video from FOX 8 WGHP

GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — Greensboro-native and former Dudley High School star quarterback Hendon Hooker could be a first-round pick with the 2023 NFL Draft kickoff just a day away.

Born in Greensboro, Hooker starred at Dudley High School for three seasons from 2014-2017, winning two state titles as well countless individual awards. He spent the first three seasons of his college career at Virginia Tech University before transferring to the University of Tennessee in 2021.

Wednesday evening, NFL Analyst Lance Zierlein still had Hooker projected to be a second round pick. NBC Sports, however, reports that the odds may be in Hooker’s favor as more mock drafts have the quarterback picked in the first round.

Zierlein says Hooker, the 2022 SEC offensive player of the year, plays with “excellent poise and footwork as a pocket passer. He will make quarterback coaches and play-callers happy with his adherence to keeping plays on schedule.”

What weighs against him are his age and knee after the 25-year-old tore his ACL in 2022. Last week, however, he told The Athletic that he expected to be fully cleared by Sept. 1.

Sports Illustrated reports that perception among NFL insiders has grown more positive, citing one that believes he won’t make it past the Commander’s No. 16 pick.

Hooker came out of Dudley as a 4-star recruit committed to Virginia Tech where he started a majority of games in his final two seasons. It was at Tennessee where Hooker blossomed into a college superstar with two of the best seasons in program history.

In his first year in Knoxville with the Volunteers, Hooker threw for nearly 3,000 yards, 31 touchdowns and only three interceptions for the season. Hooker also rushed for 616 yards and five touchdowns as he led Tennesse to a surprising 7-6 record with their dominant offense.

“I remember when I first joined the team, it’s funny, but right off the bat my teammates were skeptical,” Hooker said in his farewell to Tennessee published on The Players Tribune. “I think it’s that ‘SEC confidence’ they all had. It’s like they couldn’t imagine how some dude from the ACC could actually ball.

“But then we’re in my first practice, and on some of the early plays, I made our linebackers kind of touch the ground — just stumble a little bit when I shook them. And we’re in the locker room after, and everyone is just like, ‘Oh man, Hendon, I didn’t know you could move like that!! You’re fast!!’ or ‘I didn’t know you had an arm on you!!! You can sling it!!!’ And I’m just laughing so hard, and shaking my head, like, ‘Thanks, y’all. I appreciate it.’

“But as funny as that was to me, it was also big, for real,” he said. “Because my main goal when I got here was to gain my teammates’ trust and respect. I knew that had to come first. And everything else would follow.”

His second and final season in Tennessee was more of the same as he threw for 3,135 yards, 27 touchdowns and two interceptions. Hooker also ran for 430 yards and five touchdowns as he led Tennessee to a 9-2 record and an upset victory over #3 Alabama which led to the Volunteers briefly being ranked as the #1 team in the nation.

For his efforts in 2022, Hooker was named the SEC Offensive Player of the Year and to the Third-Team AP All-American list. Hooker accomplished this despite tearing his ACL in the fourth quarter of Tennessee’s heartbreaking loss to the University of South Carolina on Nov. 19.