Getty Images Former Ohio State S Malik Hooker was drafted No. 15 overall by the Colts in 2017.
Malik Hooker has yet to practice in full since putting pen to paper with the Dallas Cowboys. But the veteran safety has spoken out about why he chose America’s Team … beyond the obvious.
“I feel like this is the perfect place for me for my decision,” Hooker recently said, via Sports Illustrated. “I felt like this is where home was at…it’s just about getting out there and having fun and playing the game. Anybody that watched me play, anytime I played and I was healthy, I made an impact on the games I played.
For me, it ain’t about what I got to prove. It’s about me staying available and healthy at this point.’’
Hooker agreed to terms on a free-agent contract late last month but could not formally sign until completing several rounds of COVID-19 testing, as mandated by the NFL. After enough hoop-jumping, the 25-year-old became the newest member of — and likely starter for — the 2021 Dallas outfit.
Much to the delight of owner/general manager Jerry Jones.
“I’m excited over this Hooker acquisition. I’m excited over him,” Jones proclaimed at training camp, via Jon Machota of The Athletic. “That’s pretty impressive. Every time he’s been healthy, he starts.”
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Cowboys Getting ‘Game-Changer’
The No. 15 overall pick of the 2017 draft, Hooker’s playmaking ability was never doubted. In his first four seasons with the Colts, he totaled 124 tackles (81 solo), 11 pass deflections, and seven interceptions across 36 games, including 35 starts.
His ability to stay healthy, however, was an entirely different story, the reason he’s no longer in Indianapolis. Plagued by injury as a pro, Hooker has yet to log a full 16-game season and lasted only two games in 2020 before sustaining a torn Achilles’ tendon, from which he’s fully recovered.
“Hard to stay healthy,” he said, per SI.com. “It was frustrating for me at first but now (I know) it comes with the game. Every football player that plays the game … they get something back whether it’s a torn labrum whatever the case may be.
“For me, it’s not really frustrating now. It’s just about trusting it and trusting the process for me.”
He added: “It’s an ongoing process. There are some weeks when I’ll do drills and I’ll feel great. I feel (great) strength-wise.”
Hooker’s body may have suffered some blows, a few haymakers, but his confidence remains perfectly intact. Once up to speed in coordinator Dan Quinn’s system, the former Ohio State Buckeyes star is expected to receive starter’s snaps in Dallas, working opposite Donovan Wilson and Damontae Kazee. And he uttered without pause what’s to be injected into the silver-and-blue defense.
“A game-changer and an athletic ballhawk,” Hooker said. “That’s what I’ve been since I came out.”
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