Josh Heupel has seen a dramatic shift in the Hendon Hooker that quarterbacked Tennessee last season, and what Vols fans can expect this season.

It begins with communication, as the Tennessee coach shared on Greg McElroy’s podcast, “Always College Football.”

Hooker last season collected 3,561 yards of total offense, which ranked fourth in the SEC and fourth in UT single-season history, and Heupel expects that and more this season.

“First, it just starts with his complete command of our football team and ownership and leadership and true belief in his ability to lead and communicate and his energy inside the building is so different than it was this time a year ago and certainly when we first got here,” Heupel said. “He’s continued to grow in his confidence because of the work he’s put in. Offensively, just dramatically different — even from where we ended the season last year. He’s got great command of what we’re doing, gets us out of bad plays, gets us into really solid plays and has the ability to extend and make plays from protections to run schemes to what we’re doing down the field. He’s got complete ownership and command of what we’re doing. And you know — each chance you have to make that jump as a quarterback, he really, with his offseason habits, has made a huge jump.

“Fundamentally inside the pocket, ability to find a soft spot in the pocket and be able to deliver the football down the field — certainly, when we get to live game days, his ability to get out of the pocket and make plays with his feet is a big part of our success, too.”