Scangarello Provides Insight on Tennessee's Offense and Vols QB Hendon Hooker
Tennessee's offense will provide Kentucky its toughest matchup of the season to date.
Quarterback Hendon Hooker is at the helm of what currently seems like an unstoppable force that continue to builds momentum week by week. In seven games, the Virginia Tech transfer has totaled 2,093 yards, 18 touchdowns and just one interception amidst his second season in Knoxville.
There are plenty of other stars on the No. 3 Volunteers that make Josh Heupel's offense tick, but it all revolves around the fifth-year QB whose become one of the most improved players in college football.
It's not his job to worry about the Vols' offense on Saturday night, but Kentucky offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello is a lover of all things offensively, and he can appreciate a good QB and system when he sees one.
"He's a playmaker," Scangarello said of Hooker. "That offense, it just lends itself to allow that guy to be that kind of playmaker. You need to be able to play off-schedule, to improvise, to play with confidence. I think he's playing that way, I think he's got some really good skill guys around him, they've got a really good scheme, clear identity, when you have those things, you can do something pretty good. That's what they've done.
Kentucky QB Will Levis became cordial with Hooker at the Manning Passing Academy over the offseason, so he's not surprised to see his SEC compatriot breakout.
"He's a great person, you can see why his guys rally around him, he's a great leader. Most importantly, he's a dang good quarterback," Levis said. "He throws an accurate ball, makes all the throws, can beat you with the feet, it's been great to see him go out and kill it this year. I wished him all the success in the world, just not when he's playing us."
While Levis' name is surfacing amongst the top NFL Draft pick category, Hooker's is trending for that prestigious college award, the Heisman Trophy. Entering this week, he has the second-highest odds to win the award at +200 per VegasInsider, behind just Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud.
The Greensboro, North Carolina native has a pair of running backs in Jaylen Wright and Jabari Small, who've collected 802 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground. His wide receivers are perhaps the best in the country, led by Jalin Hyatt, whose caught 12 passing touchdowns by himself. Six different players have caught at least 10 passes for the Vols this season.
There's a lot of moving pieces to the puzzle that is Heupel's playbook, but it's safe to say that impact players are always surrounding Hooker on every play. That can be a nightmare for opposing defenses to try and grasp.
Scangarello is a coach with decades of experience at the college and professional level. He recognizes that Tennessee's offense is so effective, partially because it's so uniquely-collegiate and wouldn't work at the next level. There is no stone left unturned when it comes to trying to find every advantage possible for a college offense.
"You just can't play this way in the NFL. It's a different style of play. You can't play out of the splits, you can't 'play this kind of play,' and you can't go this fast because the game doesn't allow you to go this fast," Scangarello said. "So it is a different animal, and that's a huge challenge for a defense."
As a result, Tennessee's offensive presence leaks into how the Vols play defense.
The players on the other side of the ball know that the offense is getting the ball back anyways and is probably going to score, so why not go for broke every once in a while?
Scangarello is well aware of what's going to be thrown at Kentucky when it has the ball on Saturday:
"In the NFL, people don't all-out blitz...in college you can be a little more risky when you have an offense that's playing with possessions and it doesn't matter, they're trying to create havoc and negative plays and take you out of your game and get you off schedule," he said. "I think that's a complimentary style that they play, they do a very good job of it, they're well-coached on both sides and that's a tremendous challenge...what a good challenge. I think we'll be up for it."
In turn, there's been plenty of talk about tempo and time of possession.
Tennessee runs 2.88 plays-per-minute, the fifth-most of any team in the nation. Kentucky, on the other hand, runs just 1.87 plays-per-minute, the slowest of all 131 FBS teams.
It doesn't take a genius to realize that you don't want to get in a fast-paced shootout against a quick offense that averages 50 points-per-game. In the eyes of Scangarello, it's not all about slowing down the game and making it a rock fight, it's about making every opportunity count.
"The way they play is going to lend itself to more possessions. We have to make our possessions count. If we do that with points, we're okay. If we don't, yeah it's gonna be difficult to keep up with them. It's our job to take care of the rock and make it matter," he said.
Of course, that doesn't mean he's against chewing some clock with a long drive. After all, 60 minutes of game-time can feel like an eternity against a team like Tennessee.
"We'd love to have some 15-play drives and eat up seven minutes, so if we can get that done and stay on the field that'll be great! But it doesn't always go that way."
It takes a good offensive mind to know one, and Scangarello certainly recognizes what Heupel is cooking up down in Knoxville.
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