via UTSports.com
Football September 26, 2022
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — After Saturday’s thrilling triumph over the Florida Gators, the Tennessee Volunteers picked up a pair of weekly awards from the Southeastern Conference. Redshirt senior quarterback Hendon Hooker was named the SEC Offensive Player of the Week, while junior guard Javontez Spraggins was tabbed SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week.
Hooker turned heads on the national stage, accounting for a career-high 461 yards of total offense and notching three total touchdowns as the No. 11 Vols topped the 20th-ranked Gators, 38-33. The signal caller completed 22-of-28 passes for 349 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions and dashed for 112 rushing yards on 13 attempts with one score.
In the victory, Hooker extended his school-record streak of consecutive pass attempts without an interception to 212, which is the ninth-longest streak in SEC history. He eclipsed 300 yards passing for the fourth time in a Tennessee uniform and posted his second 100-yard rushing performance as a Vol, averaging a stellar 11.24 yards per play on Saturday.
His 349 passing yards were the most by a Tennessee quarterback against Florida since Peyton Manning threw for 353 yards on Sept. 20, 1997. Hooker also became the second QB in Tennessee history to record more than 300 passing and 100 rushing yards in a single game, joining Joshua Dobbs who accomplished the feat twice in his collegiate career.
Hooker has garnered national attention for his extraordinary performance on Saturday, claiming national player of the week honors from the Walter Camp Football Foundation in addition to Reese’s Senior Bowl offensive player of the week accolades. Monday’s honor from the SEC marks the second time this season and third time overall that he has been tabbed SEC Offensive Player of the Week.
Spraggins was key in helping the Vols snap their five-game skid to the Gators, paving the way for a Tennessee offense that accumulated 576 total offensive yards. In his 17th career start, he played all 70 snaps and did not allow a sack, hit, or pressure. The right guard blocked for a Vol offense that rushed for 227 yards, passed for 349 yards and averaged 8.2 yards per play, marking the fourth-highest average in the Josh Heupel era. The 576 yards of total offense for the Vols was their highest output against Florida in the series history.
For the season, Spraggins has not allowed a sack or QB hit in 264 offensive snaps.
Receiving his first career weekly award, Spraggins is the first Vol to be named SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week this season and the first for UT since Cade Mays was honored on Nov. 8, 2021, following Tennessee’s 45-42 victory at Kentucky.
The Vols have an open date this weekend and return to action Saturday, Oct. 8, with a trip to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to take on the LSU Tigers. Kickoff time and TV designation for that contest will be announced Monday afternoon.
