COLUMBIA, S.C. — Gerald Mincey put both hands on his knees and stared at the Williams-Brice Stadium turf.

It was a reaction his teammates, coaches and all Tennessee fans could relate to in the moment as Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker laid on the ground being looked at by trainers.

Just seconds before, Hooker faked a pitch to Jaylen Wright before trying to take off and run. Without any contact, he fell awkwardly at the 16-yard line as the ball came loose and was recovered by the South Carolina defense.

The turnover was the least of Tennessee's concern. The entire offensive line dropped to a knee and huddled around their quarterback. He eventually limped off the field favoring his left leg and did not return.

It was a disheartening sequence in a night full of them for the Vols in a 63-38 loss to the Gamecocks that all but dashed any hopes of a College Football Playoff push.

In his postgame press conference, Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel didn't have an answer on Hooker's status going forward. That will be something the team will "evaluate" when they return to Knoxville, Heupel told reporters.

For Hooker's teammates, the waiting game will be the hardest as they try and shift their focus to their season finale against Vanderbilt in Nashville next Saturday.

"It was probably one of the worst things I've seen out there," Tennessee offensive lineman Jerome Carvin said. "Just to know how hard he works. He's probably the hardest working guy I ever played with. It's so unfortunate for it to happen to a guy like that, but if I know anything, he'll bounce back from it for sure. He's a warrior."

Before exiting the game, Hooker was desperately trying to lead Tennessee on a comeback attempt after falling behind by three scores early in the fourth quarter.

To that point, he was 25-for-42 passing for 247 yards and three touchdowns — his third scoring toss going for 41 yards to tight end Princeton Fant to pull Tennessee as close as it would get at 35-31 in the third quarter.

“We were all definitely concerned," Fant said. "He's our brother. He's our quarterback. That's somebody that we all believe in on this offense. He's in my prayers tonight. We're praying for him."

Backup quarterback Joe Milton took the reps the rest of the way, throwing for 108 yards and a touchdown, but with Hooker's injury coupled with the mounting deficit, any bid to close the gap seemed like a futile gesture. It just wasn't Tennessee's night.

Still, when his number was called, the redshirt senior — who was the Vols' starting quarterback for two games last season — displayed the growth coaches and teammates have raved about since the offseason.

However Hooker's situation plays out, there is confidence in Milton's abilities to lead the offense.

"Joe Milton is a great player," Fant said. "He's a brother as well. Me and Joe, we talk all the time actually. We talk about things like this, about the time he'll get his chance to come in and shine. We believe in Joe as an offense. I feel like he's really going to step up in that role, whatever happens.

“We're just ready for it and we're going to go with it."

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