Panthers met with Hooker per report

[ForJimmy]

32 minutes ago, TheMaulClaw said:

Hendon Hooker is another Teddy Bridgewater, and there's nothing wrong with that, but it's not what we need.  

WTF?  I'm not a huge Hooker fan, but the man is a way better athlete than Teddy.  Bigger arm, bigger frame, and much better at running.  

[Mr. Scot]

14 minutes ago, Bear Hands said:

He has a decent understanding of a pro offense and understands layering throws.  The tools are there, but he never seems to leverage his best traits.  

He's now got something of a connection to us as well.

Liam Coen, the Wildcats OC during his more successful 2021 season, spent the other two of his last three years working alongside our new OC out in Los Angeles.

I'd imagine if Thomas Brown wants to know anything about Levis, he's got a pretty ideal source.

Edited February 22, 2023 by Mr. Scot

[Bear Hands]

24 minutes ago, Jon Snow said:

I've seen both Hooker and McKee ranked higher that AR. I've seen Hooker ranked higher than Levis. This class is viewed differently than the media mouth breathers are predicting them to fall. I just cannot put any stock into who's going where this early. The underwear Olympics will have mock draft nuts throwing sh!t out there to get clicks. But until FA is over teams draft boards will not be set.

I can honestly see the argument for Hooker ahead of AR.  The dude is 6'4 220, dual-threat, great arm, ball placement/accurate, sound footwork.  He impresses me every time I tuned in, and honestly, that Bama-Tenn game was hands down the best CFB game in years.  Bryce and Hendon just laid it all on the line.  I can't unsee what Hendon did in that game.  Bama wasn't stopping him.  

People can highlight the system he comes from & age (and I get it, you want to maximize years, can't argue that), but his strengths are hard to ignore and I think teams see that as well.  Now is the time for them to check out how well he can take in an NFL playbook.  And honestly, Corral's offense in college was even more rudimentary and we've got many willing to toss him in no problem at all.  

If you can look past him being 25 his rookie year, and trust throwing him out there sooner than later, you're still getting a potential decade from the kid.  8-10 great years is better than no good years at all.  I mean, Delhomme felt like he overstayed his welcome and he came in here and emerged at the ripe age of 28.  Romo didn't shoot off until 26-27ish.   

The age gives me pause, but it doesn't discount his abilities.  I swear, if he was a junior that declared with the same body of work the past 2 seasons, the "draftnick" whathaveyou opinion would be far different. 

And like you said, I think there could be much more buzz internally for clubs than we know. 

[ForJimmy]

11 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

Levis is scarily similar to Darnold IMO.

At least with Darnold's draft evaluation you had youth and relative inexperience to lean on to justify taking him high.

[TheMaulClaw]

17 minutes ago, ForJimmy said:

WTF?  I'm not a huge Hooker fan, but the man is a way better athlete than Teddy.  Bigger arm, bigger frame, and much better at running.  

Hooker isn't that big and he blew out his knee in a non contact injury.  Teddy Bridgewater was a 1st round pick too.  You're acting like the guy wasn't a well regarded athlete in Louisville.  

Edited February 22, 2023 by TheMaulClaw

[Bear Hands]

1 hour ago, MHS831 said:

Every year there are players that scare me because I fear we will draft them.  Levis is that guy this year--I would rather have AR.  With Levis I see a nomad with a cardboard sign in his hand, standing at the intersection of Hope and Despair.  (dramatic ending to my post)

I genuinely want to like him as a prospect.  I want to see more than flashes of anticipation and touch with his type of ability.  I mean, his release is lightning and if you plug him in, he's a top-10 arm talent in the league.    

But in comparison, if you watch Josh Allen in school, it's night and day.  He came out of nowhere and for 2 years was recklessly bombing balls left and right, leading guys downfield, creating, even if he was inaccurate and raw as hell.  6'5 230+, running like Cam and a mad man launching balls at recess.  

Levis was mid-tier recruit used as a short yardage running-QB.  He wasn't even PSU's starting QB but they rammed him in 130+ times in 2 years at a 3.5 YPC.  Then transfers after not winning the starting job, has a McVay guy to implement a pro-offense at UK.  He does pretty well in 2021.  Then, said OC leaves after 21 and the production plummets, he regresses, and is banged up.  So you get a hint of him looking pretty good in 2021, and he has a few near elite traits.    

@Mr. Scot Put it well.  We have 2 coaches in Evero & Thomas Brown who likely have Liam Coen on speed dial.  Coen knows what he brings so that connection is a huge game breaker for the fit.    

  

 

 

 

 

Edited February 22, 2023 by Bear Hands
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[Mr. Scot]

1 minute ago, Bear Hands said:

@Mr. Scot put it well.  We have 2 coaches in Evero & Thomas Brown who likely have Liam Coen on speed dial.  Coen knows what he brings so that connection is a huge game breaker for the fit.

Three if you count Jonathan Cooley I suppose...

Also reasonable to think Evero might be consulted when it comes time to look at Derek Carr since he faced him as a DC twice last year.

[Bear Hands]

1 minute ago, Mr. Scot said:

Three if you count Jonathan Cooley I suppose...

Also reasonable to think Evero might be consulted when it comes time to look at Derek Carr since he faced him as a DC twice last year.

As a sidebar, it is pretty sweet how well tied our younger staff is to the good McVay regime.  Blending that with Fangio mentees & Reich's tree that stems through SD/Indy/Philly, we've got some wicked good minds in the house.    

[ForJimmy]

45 minutes ago, TheMaulClaw said:

Hooker isn't that big and he blew out his knee in a non contact injury.  Teddy Bridgewater was a 1st round pick too.  You're acting like the guy wasn't a well regarded athlete in Louisville.  

Teddy’s career rushing yards at Louisville were 226 averaging .8 per carry Hooker was 2079 averaging 4 yards a carry. Yeah they seem sooooo similar…..

[Mr. Scot]

17 minutes ago, Bear Hands said:

As a sidebar, it is pretty sweet how well tied our younger staff is to the good McVay regime.  Blending that with Fangio mentees & Reich's tree that stems through SD/Indy/Philly, we've got some wicked good minds in the house.    

We do.

I also kind of wonder if they're going to take a look at what Ben Johnson was doing in Detroit. One of the reasons Johnson did so well last year was because he reportedly found some exploitable flaws in the Fangio style defense.

That's the kinda thing I'd probably want to know about.

[Jackie Lee]

39 minutes ago, Bear Hands said:

I genuinely want to like him as a prospect.  I want to see more than flashes of anticipation and touch with his type of ability.  I mean, his release is lightning and if you plug him in, he's a top-10 arm talent in the league.    

But in comparison, if you watch Josh Allen in school, it's night and day.  He came out of nowhere and for 2 years was recklessly bombing balls left and right, leading guys downfield, creating, even if he was inaccurate and raw as hell.  6'5 230+, running like Cam and a mad man launching balls at recess.  

Levis was mid-tier recruit used as a short yardage running-QB.  He wasn't even PSU's starting QB but they rammed him in 130+ times in 2 years at a 3.5 YPC.  Then transfers after not winning the starting job, has a McVay guy to implement a pro-offense at UK.  He does pretty well in 2021.  Then, said OC leaves after 21 and the production plummets, he regresses, and is banged up.  So you get a hint of him looking pretty good in 2021, and he has a few near elite traits.    

@Mr. Scot Put it well.  We have 2 coaches in Evero & Thomas Brown who likely have Liam Coen on speed dial.  Coen knows what he brings so that connection is a huge game breaker for the fit.    

  

 

 

 

 

Your comment of the fact he couldn't find a better school for a starting job hasn't been mentioned enough by fans or the media. Just an instant excuse for why he didn't look great for some reason. At the same time what if you just swapped him out of Hendon on the Tenn offense? I don't think he'd put up the same numbers, he's nowhere near as accurate in his passing or as calm in the pocket. 

[RockyTopVol]

He's a legitimate pro prospect! I watched closely this season to see if he was just a system guy, but he can definitely make NFL throws. I'm just not sure if I believe that he'll be 100% by training camp. 

His sister is his business manager, and she handles NIL deals for another Tennessee QB, so I've worked with her a lot. In talking with her after the season, it sounded like he'd have to miss most of the next year. 

[TNPanther]

Out of all the QB's in this class, I'd argue Hooker is the most cerebral. His growth in Huepel's offense was masterful, and his leadership skills are terrific. Great dude too.

Doesn't have a laser cannon like his backup (and soon to be starter) Joe Milton, but can thread the needle when needed.

Best Vol QB since Peyton, IMO. Shame he got hurt in the SC game. That game changed everything for UT.

[Bear Hands]

1 minute ago, Jackie Lee said:

Your comment of the fact he couldn't find a better school for a starting job hasn't been mentioned enough by fans or the media. Just an instant excuse for why he didn't look great for some reason. At the same time what if you just swapped him out of Hendon on the Tenn offense? I don't think he'd put up the same numbers, he's nowhere near as accurate in his passing or as calm in the pocket. 

I like Hendon's patience in the pocket.  It's one of his better traits, but to understand where he's at outside the TEN offense is not necessarily an unknown.  We shouldn't forget Hooker learned 2 different offenses in college.  VT's had RPO and designed runs, but was a zone run scheme, had TE usage, and he faired well.  I'll never forget them blanking Pickett/Pitt 28-0.  Didn't put up gaudy stats, but I think his VT tape is important to understand where he's at and capable of.  And that was earlier in his development.  

I will also point to the Corral point made.  Ole Miss's offense is just, if not more simplistic with the whole partial-read RPO type setup and many seem to be okay with letting Corral get in there.  I think Hooker is a lot less gimmicky than is let on.