Hendon Hooker bid farewell to Tennessee on Monday night as he turns the page to focus on the 2023 NFL Draft.

Hooker exhausted his college eligibility by returning for a sixth season in 2022, using the NCAA’s COVID-19 waiver to not count 2020. On Monday, he reflected on his time in Knoxville in a farewell note:

Vol Nation –

Thank you for your amazing support and loyalty. For me personally, I can’t tell you how many of you have reached out over the past month following my injury. That means the world to me. Whether it was through social media or handwritten letters, you lifted me up.

I want to thank my coaches — Coach Heupel, Coach Halzle, Coach Golesh, Coach Mitello and Coach Peery — for helping me become the player I am today. You instilled confidence and belief in me, and I never wanted to let you down.

Thanks to my family — my mom, my pops, my sister and my brother — your love and unwavering faith in me have been a guiding light.

Lastly and certainly not least, thank you to my teammates. We grinned, we cheered, we cried and we lifted this program back to prominence. There is something special about the brotherhood in that locker room.

Thank you God, for the blessings you bestowed on me every day, giving me the chance to play the game that I love.

Two years ago, the people of Tennessee took in a graduate transfer quarterback looking to make his mark. I am proud of the legacy we leave behind. My hope is we made those before us proud and that we inspired those who will follow in our footsteps.

As many of my teammates and I begin the next chapter in the NFL, just this, we’ll always be Volunteers.

Hendon Hooker, VFL.

Hooker heads to the NFL having put up 11,053 yards of total offense, completing 632-of-944 passes (66.9 percent) for 8,974 yards and 80 touchdowns with 12 interceptions in his college career. He began his college career playing 4 seasons at Virginia Tech before transferring to UT.

Hooker finished his 2-season Tennessee career with 58 TD passes, the fifth-most in program history.He accounted for 7,126 yards of total offense in his 24 games as a Vol, the sixth-best total in program history.

Hooker was named the 2022 SEC Offensive Player of the Year by the conference coaches, Associated Press and USA Today.