• Follow us on Twitter @buckeyeplanet and @bp_recruiting, like us on Facebook! Enjoy a post or article, recommend it to others! BP is only as strong as its community, and we only promote by word of mouth, so share away!
  • Consider registering! Fewer and higher quality ads, no emails you don't want, access to all the forums, download game torrents, private messages, polls, Sportsbook, etc. Even if you just want to lurk, there are a lot of good reasons to register!

S Malik Hooker (All B1G, All-American, Dallas Cowboys)

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Sort by date Sort by votes
1926Buckeyes said:
Where does everyone place him compared to the OSU safeties since 2000? He was only here for 1 year, and wasn't perfect, but I have a hard time putting many above him.
Click to expand...

Since 2000 makes it a little more difficult since then I have to include Mike Doss. We've had some really bad safety play at times, whether that was due to scheme or personnel. It depends what they were asked to do. Kurt Coleman would probably be my #1, based on his run stopping and pass defense, but he had many years to get as good as he did. Malik Hooker will likely be better in the long run, but he only had 3 months of actual game experience. Was the ball hawk we needed, even if there were some weaknesses in run support (key word: some).
 
Upvote 0
Since doss he's the best. Doss is a legend that outpaces him but he also can't play safety in today's game

Malik more than made up for his flaws with four pick sixes (IU happened) and nearly a fifth. If you asked who had the best range, ball skills, hitting ability and instincts, he would probably be the answer to any of those questions individually. Coleman and Whitner were more steady but didn't have his overall skillset.

He looks like a future pro bowler. The scary thing is he's still learning. He barely played football growing up and he's pretty green in terms of college experience.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0
His lack of years on the field is the only reason I held out hope he'd be back for one more run. Which is to say, if he had wanted another year in college to continue development, I wouldn't have been all that surprised, and would have been very happy. However, I cannot fault a guy for striking while the iron is hot and when I hear Schiano say he's one of two guys he's seen able to cover, essentially, the whole field (Ed Reed) I think his continued development may as well be in the pros. I'll miss watching him in the S&G. Quickly became one of my favorite Buckeyes to watch play.
 
Upvote 0
There's a shocking lack of love for Vonn Bell here IMO . . . As far as pure difference making potential at the next level though, I don't think we've had anything like Hooker in a very long time (like a Tim Fox, Jack Tatum long time). That Ed Reed guy was pretty damn good and I'm on the bandwagon of those who see a lot of Ed Reed in Hooker.
 
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top