First-year Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel brings an offense to Rocky Top that is known for putting points on the board. The big question, however, is which quarterback will lead the UT offense? Pro Football Focus has made its prediction for which Volunteer QB wins the starting job coming out of fall camp.

PFF is going with Virginia Tech transfer Hendon Hooker:

The dual-threat quarterback enjoyed plenty of success with the Hokies, aided by play-action passes and his impact in the rushing game.

Hooker’s passing grade on play-action dropbacks was nearly 30 grading points higher than it was on straight dropbacks (85.9 versus 57.0) in 2020, and his completion rate differential led all FBS quarterbacks (+13.5%). Heupel led a UCF offense that dialed up play action at a top-10 rate in 2020 (45%), with many of the resulting passes targeting go-routes down the sideline. Hooker won’t consistently hit those nine routes as often as Heupel’s last quarterback, Dillon Gabriel, but that doesn’t mean he can’t still be a good quarterback for the Volunteers.

Hooker will be competing with fellow transfer Joe Milton III (Michigan) as well as returning Tennessee quarterbacks Harrison Bailey and Brian Maurer. Bailey is UT’s leading returning passer, going 48-of-68 for 578 yards, 4 touchdowns and 2 interceptions over six games.

[H/T GoVols247]