Legendary Tennessee quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Hendon Hooker in Knoxville. Photo By Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics.
Former Tennessee football quarterback Hendon Hooker is continuing his NFL career just down the interstate from Knoxville. This offseason, he signed a deal to join the Tennessee Titans as a backup for former No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward.
If you’re a Titans and Vols fan wanting to order your Hooker jersey, you’re safe to do so. He picked his new number: No. 16.
While there likely isn’t an actual connection to this, seeing a UT quarterback don the No. 16 should bring back some fond memories for Tennessee fans. That’s, of course, the number legendary signal caller Peyton Manning wore on Rocky Top. Manning would then switch to No. 18 in the pros.
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The Titans are the fourth NFL franchise Hooker is joining in his career. Coming off an ACL tear that forced him to miss his rookie year, Hooker was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft. In August of 2025, Hooker was waived by the Lions and joined the Carolina Panthers. After being waived by the Panthers, he joined the New York Jets.
After losing the quarterback competition before the 2021 season at UT, Hooker entered after Joe Milton was injured against Pitt in the second game of the year, and never looked back. He took over the starting job and helped the Vols earn a 7-5 regular season record.
The following year, Hooker played his way into being considered a Heisman Trophy candidate for most of the season. The team finished 10-2 (6-2 SEC) and just missed out on the four-team College Football Playoffs. This came after UT defeated Alabama and Florida at home and held the No. 1 ranking in the country for part of the season. However, Hooker was injured in the penultimate game of the year, tearing his ACL during an upset loss at South Carolina.
Prior to his time on Rocky Top, Hooker played at Virginia Tech. He transferred in under Jeremy Pruitt and stayed true to the commitment despite the coaching change to Heupel before playing a snap.