Hendon Hooker Rebuffs Critics

Former Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Hendon Hooker had some strong words for critics in his opening press conference with the Detroit Lions.

Detroit Lions quarterback Hendon Hooker dealt with many questions in the predraft process. The negative talk far outweighed the positive, and plenty of evaluators failed to mention that he was a Heisman candidate, revitalized Tennessee football, and was the SEC's top quarterback a year ago.

Prospects don't often get chances to respond to their critics during the predraft process, meaning they have to wait until after the NFL Draft to answer those questions. Hooker opened his Lions career this weekend, throwing in a jersey and meeting with the media for the first time. Hooker addressed the negative commentary around him during the draft and how he felt it was handled.

“Film doesn’t lie…SEC offensive player of the year for a reason” — Hendon Hooker at Lions minicamp (he also answered a question about the criticism of his age) pic.twitter.com/iyH4cEpV7p

— zach ragan (@zachTNT) May 13, 2023

One quote resonated from his presser above all. "It all just turns into fuel. It turns into a chip on my shoulder. All this ‘oh his leg is hurt.’ The film doesn’t lie. I’m the SEC offensive player of the year for a reason." While the criticisms of Hooker are fair, it's also reasonable to point out the many attributes that enticed Detroit to draft him. He has exceptional ball placement and a strong arm. Hooker has enough athleticism to win at the professional level and has the maturity to do so as well.

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