By Jimmy Hyams
This Christmas, as Tennessee prepares for what promises to be an upper-tier bowl game — if not the College Football Playoffs — the Vols should have a check-list of holiday cards to be mailed.
At the top of the list: Virginia Tech.
If not for two Virginia Tech defections, Tennessee wouldn’t be 6-0, wouldn’t have beaten Alabama and wouldn’t be No. 3 in the nation.
Those defections: Quarterback Hendon Hooker and receiver Jalin Hyatt.
Hooker transferred to Tennessee in January 2021 after four up-and-down years and 15 starts at Blacksburg, Va.
Hyatt was committed for months to the Hokies before switching to Tennessee.
They have been the two most important players on Tennessee’s team.
When Hooker transferred to Tennessee, it didn’t move the needle, not like when Justin Fields went to Ohio State or Jalen Hurts to Oklahoma or Caleb Williams to USC.
But the native of Greensboro, N.C., has been brilliant. He leads the SEC in pass efficiency and pass yards per attempt. He has 15 touchdown passes to one interception. He set a school record for consecutive passes without an interception. He is tied for the school record with a TD pass in 18 consecutive games.
He spearheads and offense that ranks No. 1 in the nation in total yards and No. 1 in the SEC in scoring.
He has become one of the best players in college football.
Respected sportswriter Matt Hayes of Saturday Down South was asked on SportsTalk, the Sports Animal 99.1 FM, where he would rank Hooker in the Heisman vote.
“No. 1 and it’s not close,’’ Hayes said.
Hayes said he puts a lot of weight on how players play in big games. Hooker was outstanding against Florida, LSU and Alabama – three ranked teams. In fact, against those three SEC foes, UT has punted just three times.
That’s pretty efficient.
And Tennessee has averaged 43.3 points and almost 550 yards against those SEC teams without All-SEC receiver Cedric Tillman (high ankle sprain).
Hooker is Tennessee’s best quarterback since Peyton Manning.
Hyatt has made remarkable improvement from his sophomore to junior season.
A year ago, Hyatt lost his job after the Florida game after another unproductive performance. His propensity to drop passes dropped his confidence level and dropped him on the depth chart. He went four games in a row without catching a pass. He had four more games with no more than one catch.
He finished 2021 with 21 catches for 226 yards.
This season, he has 33 catches for 595 yards and a nation’s leading 10 touchdowns. He leads the SEC in receiving yards per game and receptions per game. He torched Alabama for 207 yards and a school-record five touchdown receptions.
“I’m just so proud of who Jalin Hyatt has become,’’ said UT offensive coordinator and play-caller Alex Golesh, who continually schemed Hyatt open against Alabama’s beleaguered secondary.
“A year ago at this time, I don’t know that we would’ve sat here and said he’s going to catch five touchdowns against Alabama,’’
You don’t say.
Before the Alabama game last week, you wouldn’t have said it, either. Nobody catches five touchdown passes against a Saban defense, right?
“He took the challenges he was presented with a year ago, most of them brought on by himself, and just kept working,’’ Golesh said.
Golesh said that against Alabama it was “finding those matchups then trying to exploit them.’’
Mission accomplished.
But that mission wouldn’t have been accomplished without Hooker and Hyatt – two guys who left Virginia Tech and found the Promised Land in Knoxville.
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