Is it Hooker or the "system"?

[Jdw2920]

Both you got to have a good quarterback and good system. You have to be able to make the throws that they call. As one quarterback coach told my son that’s in 5th grade that if you want to be the quarterback he ready it’s the hardest position to play in all of sports.

 

[Monkey Wrench]

I would say its both, Generally when I think of "system" qbs I think of qbs that have a ton of success from thowing 5-10 yards down field to wide open receivers/backs and getting a ton of YAC - and also keep the qbs job fairly easy, as they generally dont have to throw into danger, or down field. But Hooker is continuously throwing it well down field (and super long throws out to (very wide) wide receivers). The system helps receivers get open, but still has to make throws, and the further the ball has to be thrown, the more room for errors.

 

[Monkey Wrench]

. . . only because he chooses not to be. It's insane how he keeps his eyes up and keeps plays alive.

I would take it one step further, and say he is an extremely elite scrambling qb, scrambling doesn't mean he has to run down field, he just has to break pocked and keep plays alive. And its wild how good he is at keeping plays alive.

 

[DeepSpringsVol]

Thanks. At least someone agrees with me.

I think the unfortunate part for him is he follows the other successful Bama qbs so people group them as a whole. They all have their own identity. Young has a skillset none of the others before him has.

 

[Vols1313]

I've had a few back and forths on the board over the last couple of days about whether UT's success is due, entirely or primarily, to Hooker or to "the system" put in place by Huepel & Co. There seem to be two schools of thought: those that want Hooker to win the Heisman say its his mostly if not entirely his ability, while those that hope that this is a long term trend for success for UT over the long haul are hoping its the system and the coaching.

To me it is a bit of both, but I am firmly in the camp that Hooker is a special, once in a blue moon type of talent. I think future teams will get coached differently to match their particular talents. But right now, this season, it is Hooker that gets the credit, imo.

Both for sure

 

[Johnnyreb#VFL]

For the sake of our future, hope it’s more the system but don’t tell the heisman voters that. We better lock Heupel up yesterday bc they are going to be gunning for him.

 

[rocketskates]

A little of both I’d say. You’ll know for sure next season when Milton or Nico take over. I don’t suspect there will be much of a drop off in production with either of those guys though.

 

[LadyVolette]

I've had a few back and forths on the board over the last couple of days about whether UT's success is due, entirely or primarily, to Hooker or to "the system" put in place by Huepel & Co. There seem to be two schools of thought: those that want Hooker to win the Heisman say its his mostly if not entirely his ability, while those that hope that this is a long term trend for success for UT over the long haul are hoping its the system and the coaching.

To me it is a bit of both, but I am firmly in the camp that Hooker is a special, once in a blue moon type of talent. I think future teams will get coached differently to match their particular talents. But right now, this season, it is Hooker that gets the credit, imo.

Yes

 

[VFL-82-JP]

Heh, OP is basically asking, "is it Hooker or Heupel," thinking there's a poison pill in there for Tennessee either way.

But the right answer is: Both.

Go Vols!

 

[JoAllan]

The system can beat even really good D’s…….however you have to have someone run it. Hooker doesn’t just run it correctly……he runs it like the Ferrari it is.


We all saw this O with Milton last year……..it wasn’t even close to the same. You have to have both for the success we are seeing of each.

 

[lawgator1]

Heh, OP is basically asking, "is it Hooker or Heupel," thinking there's a poison pill in there for Tennessee either way.

But the right answer is: Both.

Go Vols!

You have not read the thread. I think most people agree that its both, including me, but that only time will tell whether the chemistry, timing, and talent will be recreated to fit Heupel's style moving forward. Its just a realistic discussion of the future, post-Hooker.

 

['Boro-vol]

The few looks we have gotten of Milton has shown me they are truly developing QB's... Both HH and Milton are light years beyond last years versions of themselves.

Heupel has done that wherever he’s been.

 

[Volfan1000]

It is both. Hooker does a great job reading his presnap options.

It is a combination of both Hooker and the system.

 

[VFL-82-JP]

You have not read the thread. I think most people agree that its both, including me, but that only time will tell whether the chemistry, timing, and talent will be recreated to fit Heupel's style moving forward. Its just a realistic discussion of the future, post-Hooker.

I've read it. And commented elsewhere, acknowledging your "both" perspective.

You're hoping Heupel's presence doesn't spell doom for the Gators in our rivalry for years to come. You seek a "this too shall pass" silver lining in Hooker being so darn good.

You're destined for disappointment in that regard. The silver lining is for the Vols, as Heupel & Co continue to recruit, develop, and scheme for outstanding football players.

Go Vols!

 

[VolArmy74]

Hooker's best trait is that he doesn't put the ball in harms way, but that's boosted by the system that sees people pretty open very often. If Milton has truly worked out his accuracy issues I think you'll see him also putting up monster numbers next season. He's got the best arm strength of any QB I've ever seen and in his limited duty this year he's been accurate with his throws in the big windows the system creates.

Once we land more running back depth I believe we will see more balanced running/passing stats. At UCF in 2018 they averaged over 250 passing and 260 rushing and 44 points a game that way. In 2019 it was 316 passing and 224 rushing but the points per game stayed right around 44. In 2020 it was 357 and 220, and 43 ppg.

When he took over as OC at Missouri they were a bottom 20 offense in the nation. In year one they averaged 295/205 and went from like 13ppg in 2015 to 31ppg. In 2017 it was 308/194 and 38ppg.

At Oklahoma in his first year their scoring and yardage increased significantly. They added about 50 more passing yards per game and 8 points per game. In his second year Oklahoma added about 20 more passing yards and 30 more rushing yards per game and the scoring went up 3 more points per game. The year Oklahoma fired him they had major QB injury issues and he still averaged 36.4 ppg and nearly 500 yards per game.

Point being from all this, his offense has always worked and worked well at every stop, across multiple quarterbacks who played different styles. Sometimes he's pass heavy, sometimes he's run heavy. But the offense churns out 500+ yards per game regularly. We went from 109th in scoring to 7th between 2020 and 2021 even though our running back room transferred out.

Counting on the offense being significantly worse when Hooker leaves is very likely a false hope for opposing fans.

 

[Mr_Henley]

I've had a few back and forths on the board over the last couple of days about whether UT's success is due, entirely or primarily, to Hooker or to "the system" put in place by Huepel & Co. There seem to be two schools of thought: those that want Hooker to win the Heisman say its his mostly if not entirely his ability, while those that hope that this is a long term trend for success for UT over the long haul are hoping its the system and the coaching.

To me it is a bit of both, but I am firmly in the camp that Hooker is a special, once in a blue moon type of talent. I think future teams will get coached differently to match their particular talents. But right now, this season, it is Hooker that gets the credit, imo.

CJH successfully built this offense… back better?

You’re confused on the question because you’re use to parroting failure every day.

 

[Volosaurus rex]

So I'll reiterate:

Most guys that break down scheme on YT have talked about this offense. They give most credit to the staff for specifically scheming players open.

Young was making absolute NFL-level throws. Hooker wasn't having to because his players, more often than not, were schemed open.

Every single week it's the same thing. "Yeah, the players were wide open against Florida. They won't be against LSU."

Then it was "Yeah, the players were wide open against LSU. They won't be against Alabama."

Now it's "Yeah, they were wide open against Bama but won't be against Kentucky."

When are people going to realize that the players are consistently wide open is what professional analysts are saying and it being not just a result of tempo (which does play a part) but definitely scheme/playcalling.

This offense is better because our OL is playing at a high level and our run game has emerged. Also, notably, with almost entirely barely-there 4* but mostly 3* talent across the board save for Darnell Wright.


I'll give plenty of credit to the players for working their asses off and for having high belief in themselves and the scheme, but most credit goes to the staff.

Agreed. For years, Tennessee justifiably had the reputation of being "Wide Receiver U." However, for all the talent that the Stanley Morgans, Larry Sievers, Carl Pickens, Kelly Washingtons, Tim McGees, etc. possessed, they were rarely, let alone as regularly, wide open as this Heupel-coached offense has schemed them to be. Quite frankly, this offense made an excellent Alabama defense look no better than any other defense we have played this year.

 

[zjcvols]

Heck, don't even have to google it. Just re-watch the game from Saturday. That dude was sliding left and right like he was on skates. He was avoiding incoming defensive missiles like that video arcade game. Gained a lot of respect for Young the way he played, both with his arm and his feet. Mostly with his brain.

Hendon is still about 30 miles better. But Young is a damn fine QB.

Hendon is the second best QB in the country right now. Bryce is clearly the best. He’s the best college QB since Cam. The stuff that dude does is insane. I posted this in another thread, but if any other QB in the country played for Bama, Tennessee would have won by 17.

 

[Volosaurus rex]

Hooker's best trait is that he doesn't put the ball in harms way, but that's boosted by the system that sees people pretty open very often. If Milton has truly worked out his accuracy issues I think you'll see him also putting up monster numbers next season. He's got the best arm strength of any QB I've ever seen and in his limited duty this year he's been accurate with his throws in the big windows the system creates.

Once we land more running back depth I believe we will see more balanced running/passing stats. At UCF in 2018 they averaged over 250 passing and 260 rushing and 44 points a game that way. In 2019 it was 316 passing and 224 rushing but the points per game stayed right around 44. In 2020 it was 357 and 220, and 43 ppg.

When he took over as OC at Missouri they were a bottom 20 offense in the nation. In year one they averaged 295/205 and went from like 13ppg in 2015 to 31ppg. In 2017 it was 308/194 and 38ppg.

At Oklahoma in his first year their scoring and yardage increased significantly. They added about 50 more passing yards per game and 8 points per game. In his second year Oklahoma added about 20 more passing yards and 30 more rushing yards per game and the scoring went up 3 more points per game. The year Oklahoma fired him they had major QB injury issues and he still averaged 36.4 ppg and nearly 500 yards per game.

Point being from all this, his offense has always worked and worked well at every stop, across multiple quarterbacks who played different styles. Sometimes he's pass heavy, sometimes he's run heavy. But the offense churns out 500+ yards per game regularly. We went from 109th in scoring to 7th between 2020 and 2021 even though our running back room transferred out.

Counting on the offense being significantly worse when Hooker leaves is very likely a false hope for opposing fans.

It actually could improve slightly, once we have been able to upgrade our defensive personnel. Once we can get them off the field with greater regularity, limit/shorten opponents' possessions and reduce the number of scoring opportunities, that will enable the offense to do what it does best with, perhaps, even greater frequency and regularity. You're already seeing teams, notably Florida and LSU, become unduly aggressive in making fourth-down offensive decisions because of the difficulty this scheme poses.

 

[WillisWG]

Heupel, Hooker, Hyatt and a host of Vol WRs. Mix in a SOLID OL, a couple nice RBs and you got yourself a WINNER!

 

[Carp]

Hooker has always been extremely efficient, even back to his VT days.

That said, the system is designed to be pretty simple overall. Use the hurry up offense to not allow the opposing team to substitute personell for specific packages and exploit mismatches (a dumb downed synopsis). But you also need a QB that can run it well and recognize the weak points and place the ball accurately. Hooker makes the right reads 99% of the time and he has been insanely accurate this year.

So to answer your question, it's a perfect match between a great system and a special QB.

 

[OHvol40]

I've had a few back and forths on the board over the last couple of days about whether UT's success is due, entirely or primarily, to Hooker or to "the system" put in place by Huepel & Co. There seem to be two schools of thought: those that want Hooker to win the Heisman say its his mostly if not entirely his ability, while those that hope that this is a long term trend for success for UT over the long haul are hoping its the system and the coaching.

To me it is a bit of both, but I am firmly in the camp that Hooker is a special, once in a blue moon type of talent. I think future teams will get coached differently to match their particular talents. But right now, this season, it is Hooker that gets the credit, imo.

Gators that are hoping it’s all Hooker might end up disappointed. Be sure we follow this up in the coming years for a more quantitative retrospective analysis.

 

[GAVol]

Hendon is the second best QB in the country right now. Bryce is clearly the best. He’s the best college QB since Cam. The stuff that dude does is insane. I posted this in another thread, but if any other QB in the country played for Bama, Tennessee would have won by 17.

Could not agree more. You just flat out won't see another college football game for years with better QB play than we saw Saturday.

 

[Volosaurus rex]

Hendon is the second best QB in the country right now. Bryce is clearly the best. He’s the best college QB since Cam. The stuff that dude does is insane. I posted this in another thread, but if any other QB in the country played for Bama, Tennessee would have won by 17.

I'm not sure that I agree or disagree. For me, the difficulty in assessing Alabama quarterbacks under Saban resides in the task of separating their individual play from the extraordinary cast of surrounding talent. 'Bama quarterbacks are rarely asked, let alone forced, to carry a team in close games the way that qbs for other programs are often forced to.

 

[08Vol]

Hooker is also nailing the throws. We all remember Milton's use of wide-open receivers.

And even in this game Hooker overthrew a TD on that 4th down before the half. Then in our 1st drive of the 3rd quarter a WR slowed down on a pass that would have been a long TD if he had just kept running.