Hendon Hooker turned out to be the perfect match for Josh Heupel’s system upon arriving in Knoxville last offseason.

Hooker was a good quarterback at Virginia Tech who turned into a great quarterback under Heupel and will likely take yet another step in Year 2. The Vols had the third best scoring offense in the SEC last season (just over 38 points per game) and the unit has just gotten better heading into the new schedule.

With all Tennessee’s strengths last season, there were plenty of weaknesses, too. The Vols’ defense was spotty at best. The lightning paced offense also struggled to move the chains on third down as well as Heupel (and fans) would have liked to have seen. Managing that fast of a tempo? That’s on the head coach.

Hooker doesn’t care. He still believes Heupel is the best football coach in the country.

“From Day One, Coach came in with his attitude of ‘we want to win ball games’ and that’s what I am here to do, as well as being aggressive. What I mean by that is — to go out there and try to dominate,” Hooker said Wednesday. “That’s what I try to do when I approach the field and play like it’s my last. Him bringing that approach to the team as well as being a great listener, understanding what the team needs in every aspect. Not just in the building but life as well. Never know what some of the players are going through. Him being appealing to every player, down to earth. I think he’s the best coach in America.”

Heupel has Tennessee trending in the right direction, but everyone knows there is much, much more work to be done. 2022 is one of the most important years the Tennessee football program has seen in a long, long time.