Hendon Hooker kicked off his longshot Heisman Trophy campaign by passing for 222 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for two more scores in little more than a half as Tennessee rolled past Ball State 59-10 in the season opener for both teams Thursday night in Knoxville, Tenn.
Hooker completed 18 of 25 passes and extended his streak of games with at last one touchdown pass to 13, tied for second with Tony Robinson in the Tennessee record book behind Heath Shuler’s 18.
Jaylen Wright (88 yards) and Jabari Small (63) combined to rush for 151 yards and each scored as the Vols rushed for 218 yards in amassing 570 yards in offense.
The defense held the Cardinals to just 74 yards rushing.
Ball State’s John Paddock, a redshirt junior making his first start, passed for 269 yards and a touchdown, on a short pass to Tanner Koziol in the third quarter. Paddock completed 27 of 43 passes with two interceptions.
The Vols had the game wrapped up early. Tamarion McDonald’s interception on Ball State’s first play gave them the ball at the visitors’ 27-yard line, and Hooker cashed in with a scoring strike to Jalin Hyatt on his first play from scrimmage.
They kept on rolling from there. Hooker scored on two short keepers. Small scored from 7 yards out to put the Vols up 31-0, and Hooker connected with Walker Merrill from 16 yards to give the Vols a 38-0 lead at halftime.
Hooker directed an 11-play, 94-yard scoring drive, capped by Wright’s 3-yard rushing TD, to open the third quarter.
Joe Milton III, who started last year’s opener for the Vols, then took over. Milton finished 9-of-9 passing for 113 yards.
He directed a 78-yard march that ended with freshman Dylan Sampson scoring from 3 yards out for his first collegiate touchdown. Milton then hooked up with Jimmy Holiday on a 53-yard catch-and-run to cap a 93-yard drive.
–Field Level Media