Malik Hooker

Malik Hooker (born April 2, 1996) is an American football safety for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State and was drafted by the Colts with the 15th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. While at Ohio State, Hooker was named a First Team All-American and won the 2015 CFP national championship.

Malik Hooker
Hooker with the Indianapolis Colts in 2018
No. 29 – Indianapolis Colts
Position:Safety
Personal information
Born: (1996-04-02) April 2, 1996
New Castle, Pennsylvania
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:214 lb (97 kg)
Career information
High school:New Castle
(New Castle, Pennsylvania)
College:Ohio State
NFL Draft:2017 / Round: 1 / Pick: 15
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2020
Total tackles:124
Pass deflections:11
Interceptions:7
Forced fumbles:0
Fumble recoveries:2
Player stats at NFL.com

Early years

Hooker attended New Castle High School in New Castle, Pennsylvania. He played basketball and two years of football in high school as a cornerback and wide receiver.[1] As a senior, he was the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Male Athlete of the Year.[2]

College career

After redshirting his first year at Ohio State in 2014, Hooker played in all 13 games in 2015, recording 10 tackles playing mostly special teams. As a redshirt sophomore in 2016, he took over at free safety.[3][4] During the first game of the season, he recorded his first two career interceptions.[5][6] On November 29, 2016, Hooker was name First Team All-Big Ten.[7] After the season, Hooker decided to forgo the remaining two years of eligibility and enter the 2017 NFL Draft.[8] After his college career, it was revealed that Hooker underwent surgeries for a torn labrum in his hip and a sports hernia. As a result, Hooker could not participate in the combine.[9]

Professional career

2017 NFL Draft

In February 2017, Hooker went through two surgeries to repair a hernia and a torn labrum. He attended the NFL Scouting Combine, but was unable to participate in any of the drills. 122 NFL scouts and representatives attended Ohio State's Pro Day and met with multiple head coaches, including Bill Belichick (Patriots), Todd Bowles (Jets), Jim Caldwell (Lions), John Harbaugh (Ravens), Hue Jackson (Browns), Marvin Lewis (Bengals), Mike Mularkey (Titans), Sean Payton (Saints), and Mike Tomlin (Steelers). Hooker was projected to be a top 15 pick by NFL draft experts and analysts.[10] He was ranked the top free safety in the draft by DraftScout.com and was ranked the second best safety in the draft, behind Jamal Adams, by Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Pro Football Focus, NFL analyst Mike Mayock, and NFL analyst Bucky Brooks.[11][12][13][14][15]

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand size 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump
6 ft 1 in
(1.85 m)		 206 lb
(93 kg)		 1⁄4 in
(0.01 m)		 10 3⁄4 in
(0.27 m)
All values from NFL Combine[16]

2017 season
See also: 2017 Indianapolis Colts season

The Indianapolis Colts selected Hooker in the first round (15th overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft.[17] He was the second safety selected, behind LSU's Jamal Adams.

On May 18, 2017, the Indianapolis Colts signed Hooker to a fully guaranteed four-year, $12.59 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $2.29 million.[18]

Hooker missed offseason workouts while recovering from surgery and suffered a groin injury during the first day of training camp. A shoulder injury further stunted his process and he was only able to appear in a single preseason game.[19] Head coach Chuck Pagano named Hooker the backup free safety to begin the regular season behind Darius Butler, who began the season alongside strong safety Matthias Farley.[20]

He made his professional regular season debut in the Indianapolis Colts' season-opener at the Los Angeles Rams and recorded four combined tackles in their 46–9 loss.[21] On September 17, 2017, Hooker earned his first career start in place of Darius Butler, who was inactive after sustaining a hamstring injury in the season-opener.[22] Hooker recorded two combined tackles, deflected a pass, and recorded his first career interception off a pass by quarterback Carson Palmer during their 16–13 overtime loss to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 2.[23] The following week, he made three combined tackles, broke up a pass, and intercepted a pass by Deshone Kizer in the Colts' 31–28 victory against the Cleveland Browns.[21] In Week 4, Hooker made three combined tackles, a pass deflection, and had another interception off Russell Wilson in their 46–18 loss at the Seattle Seahawks.[21] It marked his third consecutive game with an interception. On October 8, 2017, Hooker collected a season-high five combined tackles during a 26–23 victory against the San Francisco 49ers.[21] In Week 7, Hooker made two solo tackles before leaving the Colts' 27–0 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the second quarter after suffering a torn ACL and MCL.[24] On October 24, 2017, the Indianapolis Colts placed Hooker on injured reserve after it was discovered he would require surgery and miss the remainder of the season.[25] He finished his rookie season with 22 combined tackles (16 solo), four pass deflections, and three interceptions in seven games and six starts.[26]

2018 season

Hooker made his return from injury in week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals. In the game, Hooker made 4 tackles in the 34-23 loss.[27] In week 7 against the New York Jets, Hooker made his first interception of the season off rookie quarterback Sam Darnold and returned it for 27 yards in the 42-34 loss.[28] In week 16 against the New York Giants, Hooker intercepted Eli Manning in the 28-27 win.[29] Hooker finished the season with 41 tackles (28 solo), 3 pass deflections, 2 interceptions, and 1 fumble recovery.

Hooker made his playoff debut in the wildcard round against the Houston Texans. In the game, Hooker made 2 tackles in the 21-7 win.[30] In the divisional round against the Kansas City Chiefs, Hooker was inactive due to a foot injury in the 31-13 loss.[31]

2019 season

In week 1 against the Los Angeles Chargers, Hooker intercepted Philip Rivers in the endzone and returned it 26 yards in the 30-24 overtime loss.[32][33]

2020 season

On May 1, 2020, the Colts declined the fifth-year option on Hooker's contract, making him a free agent in 2021.

On September 20, 2020, during the Colts' victory over the Minnesota Vikings, Hooker tore his Achilles, ending his 2020 season. He was placed on injured reserve two days later.[34]

Career statistics
Seasons Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
YearTeam GPGS CombTotalAstSck PDefIntYdsAvgLngTDs FFFR
2017IND 76 221660.0 437324.3320 00
2018IND 1313 4128130.0 323417.0270 01
2019IND 1313 5130140.0 323918.5260 01
Career 3332 11474330.0 107146--320 01

References
  1. High school notebook: New Castle junior recruited for both basketball, football
  2. Male Athlete of the Year: In basketball or football, Malik Hooker was the man
  3. Mike White's Xtra Points: When Malik Hooker wowed Urban Meyer ... in basketball
  4. Is Malik Hooker next to win a starting job? 5 things to know about Ohio State's safety
  5. Tom Archdeacon: Mother, son make quite an impression in OSU opener
  6. Malik Hooker was never actually going to leave Ohio State: The real story of the rising Buckeyes safety
  7. "2016 Big Ten Individual Award Winners" (PDF). www.grfx.cstv.com. Big Ten Conference. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
  8. "Ohio State DB Malik Hooker entering NFL draft". Retrieved January 5, 2017.
  9. "Ex-Buckeye Malik Hooker to miss combine after multiple surgeries". ESPN. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
  10. "*Malik Hooker, DS #1 FS, Ohio State". nfldraftscout.com. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
  11. Chris Burke (April 24, 2017). "2017 NFL draft rankings: Top prospects by position". si.com. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
  12. Jeff Legwold (April 22, 2017). "Ranking 2017 Draft's Top 100 Players". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
  13. "Top 32 Prospects of the 2017 NFL Draft". profootballfocus.com. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
  14. Mike Mayock (April 12, 2017). "Mike Mayock's 2017 NFL Draft position rankings 3.0". NFL.com. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
  15. Bucky Brooks (April 25, 2017). "Bucky Brooks' top 5 2017 NFL Draft prospects by position 3.0". NFL.com. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
  16. "NFL Draft Profile: Malik Hooker". NFL.com. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  17. Bowen, Kevin (April 28, 2017). "Colts Draft Ohio State Safety Malik Hooker In First Round". Colts.com. Archived from the original on September 18, 2017. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
  18. "Spotrac.com: Malik Hooker contract". spotrac.com. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  19. Wells, Mike (September 2, 2017). "Colts first-rounder Malik Hooker heads into season playing catch-up". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  20. Holder, Stephen (September 7, 2017). "Insider: Breaking down the Colts' depth chart". indystar.com. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  21. "NFL Player stats: Malik Hooker (2017)". NFL.com. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  22. Rotowire (September 15, 2017). "Colts' Darius Butler: Will sit on Sunday". cbssports.com. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  23. "Arizona Cardinals at Indianapolis Colts - September 17th, 2017". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  24. Shook, Nick (October 22, 2017). "Malik Hooker suffers torn MCL, ACL in loss to Jaguars". NFL.com.
  25. "Colts Make Practice Squad Moves; Place Malik Hooker On IR". Colts.com. October 24, 2017. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017.
  26. "NFL Player stats: Malik Hooker (career)". NFL.com. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  27. "Bengals rally late to spoil Luck's return with 34-23 win". www.espn.com. September 9, 2018. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  28. "Myers kicks Jets-record 7 FGs in 42-34 win over Colts". www.espn.com. October 14, 2018. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  29. "Luck keeps Colts in playoff hunt with 28-27 win over Giants". www.espn.com. December 23, 2018. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  30. "Luck has 2 TDs to lead Colts over Texans 21-7 in wild card". www.espn.com. January 6, 2019. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  31. "Chiefs roll past Colts 31-13 to reach AFC title game". www.espn.com. January 6, 2019. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  32. "Ekeler scores 3 TDs in Chargers 30-24 OT win over Colts". www.espn.com. September 8, 2019. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  33. "Malik Hooker Stats". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  34. "Roster Moves: S Ibraheim Campbell & CB Tremon Smith Elevated To Active Roster; WR Parris Campbell & S Malik Hooker Placed On IR; TEs Hale Hentges & Ethan Wolf Signed To Practice Squad". Colts.com. September 22, 2020.
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