Josh Heupel has comfort in knowing that the Tennessee offense will have a dynamic connection between QB Hendon Hooker and WR Cedric Tillman.

“You guys saw growth through the course of last year. That’s only continued,” Heupel said on the SEC coaches media teleconference. “… A year ago, nobody knew who they were at this point in time and man, they continued to grow. … They know he’s going to be in the right place at the right time. He identifies coverages so well. … There’s a lot of comfort as a staff, as a quarterback, with Cedric and obviously those guys have a great connection.”

While both players have progressed, Heupel has been impressed with Hooker’s offseason, and how he has a better handle on the offense. Hooker is 6-5 as a starter at Tennessee and the offense is averaging 39.9 points per game and 483.5 yards per game in those 11 games.

“He’s been unbelievable this offseason, extremely urgent with his preparation,” Heupel said. “… He has great command of what we’re doing. … That’s going to allow us to continue to grow and attack defenses in different ways than maybe we were a year ago. Certainly Hendon is a big part of that.”

Keith Farner

A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.