Volunteer Country

Look: Vols Stars Hooker, Tillman Get Recognition in Times Square

Fall camp is less than two weeks away as year two of the Josh Heupel era is quickly approaching. Year one produced two unforeseen stars in Hendon Hooker and

Matt Ray

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Fall camp is less than two weeks away as year two of the Josh Heupel era is quickly approaching. Year one produced two unforeseen stars in Hendon Hooker and Cedric Tillman. The offensive duo became one of the top pairings in America last fall, and they have plenty of buzz around their names heading into the 2022 season. 

Today, the duo are in New York City with Spyre Sports Group for an NIL opportunity, and they were recognized in Times Square by NASDAQ during their time there. 

Yesterday, the duo was named to the prestigious Maxwell Award list. This made Tennessee one of only four teams in the SEC and 13 teams in the nation with multiple players on the 85-man watch list. 

The Maxwell Award has been presented to the College Player of the Year since 1937 and is named in honor of Robert "Tiny" Maxwell, who was a former standout at the Swarthmore College and a renowned sports writer and football official.

Hooker was also one of 35 quarterbacks named to the Davey O'Brien Watchlist earlier today. Last Fall, Hooker become the first Tennessee quarterback to be named a semi-finalist for the award since 2006 when Erik Ainge did. 

Tillman led the Vols with 64 catches for 1,081 yards and 12 touchdowns last fall, while Hooker accounted for 3,561 yards of total offense and 36 total touchdowns in just 11 starts at the position

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Matt Ray
MATT RAY

Matt Ray is the publisher of Sports Illustrated-FanNation's Volunteer Country, serving as a beat reporter covering football, recruiting, and occasionally other sports. Matt also is a lead analyst at Sports Illustrated All-American, Sports Illustrated lead authority in high school recruiting coverage. When not at work covering the Tennessee Volunteers or the recruiting trail, Matt enjoys spending time with his wife Destiny traveling the country. 

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