They refuse to budge from their tried and true mantra: Your tape is your resume.

Unless, that is, you’re a quarterback.

Then the bar floats and flutters and eventually stops at a point specific to who’s reaching it. Which is to say, the eye of the beholder.

That’s when you’re too small (Bryce Young). Or you’re a volume system thrower (CJ Stroud). Or — and here’s the best of all — we can fix him (Anthony Richardson).

Meanwhile, there’s Hendon Hooker.

Talk to NFL scouts about Hooker, Tennessee’s record-breaking quarterback, and the criticisms have nothing to do with actual game tape.

It’s his age (he’s 25), and ACL surgery (Dec. 13, 2022), and the last guy to play in Vols coach Josh Heupel’s pass-friendly system (Drew Lock, Missouri) has already been traded and will be a career backup.

Watch the tape, and trust your eyes.

Overlooked is Hooker’s smooth, rhythmic throwing and a high percentage rate with throws on time and with anticipation.

Or the nifty footwork that helps him move freely from point to point within the pocket and buy time, finish progressions and find a receiver.

Or the arm talent that can make every throw, including accurate, catchable balls on intermediate and deep throws.

Or the dual-threat ability that allows him to escape and make plays off schedule while maintaining accuracy.

“There’s a lot to like about him,” an NFL scout told me this week. “The more we start to really dig into these quarterbacks, the more we get the opportunity to double back. This happens every year where you think it’s one thing, and then further analysis and in-person interviews take you another way.”

Or as another scout told me this week: “At the end of the day, you have to trust the tape. We look at physical traits and projections, and sometimes we forget what happens on 3rd down under pressure and you need a throw.”

Let’s begin with the foundation that Hooker played in the toughest conference in college football, one that has had more 1st-round selections in the NFL Draft than any other, and more selections overall than any other.

The conference that plays better defense than any other conference, and sends more defensive linemen and cornerbacks than — I know this is going to shock you — any other conference.

Hooker also played in a program that, until the 2021 season, was an afterthought on the national stage for more than a decade — much less the SEC race. Then Hooker arrived from Virginia Tech at the same time as Heupel, and Tennessee football drastically changed.

Remember, your tape is your resume.

Last season alone — when he missed the last 9 quarters of the season — Hooker completed 70% of his passes and had a TD/INT ratio of 27/2. In 2 years at Tennessee, he had a 58/5 ratio.

Against ranked teams, Hooker had a career ratio of 23/5, and completed 59 percent of 3rd down throws, with 13 TDs and 1 INT.

Wait, it gets better.

In 2 seasons at Tennessee, Hooker had 76 completions on 3rd down — and a whopping 67% (51 throws) went for 1st downs.

In 2 seasons, he had 63 completions of 25 yards or more.

Now here’s the knockout punch: When games were tied, or when Tennessee trailed by 1-7, 8-14, and/or 15+ points over the past 2 seasons: Hooker completed 68% of his passes — and had 32 TDs and 5 INTs.

When I read those numbers to 3rd scout, he quickly declared, “anyone can make numbers look anyway they want.”

To that I replied that against Alabama, a defense with 5 potential top 100 picks in this year’s draft (and more including 2024 picks), Hooker had 385 yards and 5 TDs — and averaged 12.8 yards per attempt.

His response: He takes too many sacks, he missed 3 deep throws against the elite Georgia defense because he’s inconsistent vs. pressure, and the Tennessee offense is set up for quarterbacks to succeed.

As opposed to the Alabama offense. Or the Ohio State and Clemson offenses. Or any offense coached by Lincoln Riley.

Hooker still has 3 weeks to interview with teams, and potentially move into the 1st round and earn a 5-year deal. More than likely, Hooker will be selected by a team that doesn’t have a quarterback need in 2023 — or at least early in the 2023 season.

Hooker says his surgically-repaired knee will be ready by training camp in late July, but that’s best-case scenario. Is the knee a risk?

Is it any more a risk than Anthony Richardson?

Watch the tape, everyone. It’s your resume.

Trust your eyes.