A fair question regarding Hooker

[BProland85]

Could Hooker's success be attributed to having both Lattimore and Conley at corner while at Ohio State, or is it the other way around? Watching Hooker, if he cleans up his missed tackles and bad angles, I think he could be special with the vision/range and ball skills he has.

[wig]

He eliminated the middle of the field and made some absolutely incredible plays. A safety like that helps CBs more than the other way around. CBs know they have help and adjust their coverage accordingly. 

[Austin Leonard]

The Buckeyes were able to play more aggressive up front with Lattimore and Conley because of hookers skills behind them, which will also benefit Vontae and Wilson,we like to play a lot of man to man and be aggressive at the line having a safety like hooker allows you to do that because he's there if the corner gets beat, the corners can be more aggressive to allow the pass rush to get there.

[WoolMagnet]

I thought you were gonna ask what a fair price to pay one would be. I think it depends on how pretty and experienced she is.

 

[BleedBlu8792]

1 hour ago, BProland85 said:

Could Hooker's success be attributed to having both Lattimore and Conley at corner while at Ohio State, or is it the other way around? Watching Hooker, if he cleans up his missed tackles and bad angles, I think he could be special with the vision/range and ball skills he has.

 

No, because as good as Lattimore/Conley were at OSU, QB's stayed away from Hooker as much as possible, especially late in the season. He's a guy who's going to make our DB's better, not the other way around. Look at Eric Berry/Earl Thomas/Ed Reed, those elite FS, and how well their DB's benefited from them roaming around in center field. Hooker allows our corners to play more aggressive because they know anything thrown down field, he's going to be around it to help make a play on it. 

[AZColt11]

IDK but I'm hoping it was just because Hooker was a gifted player.  We will not know until we see him play, but no doubt that OSU backfield was special.  I would not be surprised to see all 3 of them make the ProBowl at some point.

[stitches]

5 hours ago, BProland85 said:

Could Hooker's success be attributed to having both Lattimore and Conley at corner while at Ohio State, or is it the other way around? Watching Hooker, if he cleans up his missed tackles and bad angles, I think he could be special with the vision/range and ball skills he has.

I haven't watched every single game snap by snap, but according to this:

 

 

By week 4 opponents stopped testing him in the seams and were throwing everything on the boundary as far away from Hooker as possible since he had 3 interceptions and 2 returned for touchdowns in the first two games. The guy also mentions that Clemson would rather test their first round corners than test Hooker down the middle. They didn't throw a single pass down the middle when Hooker was in for the whole game.

 

[Goatface Killah]

I mean just watch his tape. The CB has absolutely nothing to do with him making picks 40 years down the sideline coming from the opposite hash, which he did multiple times last year. You just don't see that. 

 

Hooker has some crazy instincts, and not just in coverage. He made quite a few TFLs on run plays where he came downfield in a hurry, and I remember also seeing him get a sack on a perfectly timed blitz as well. 

 

I think this kid is one of those special talents that just don't come around often and we will look back at this draft and wonder how we got him where we did. If he doesn't have surgery and teams get a chance to see him workout, we probably don't get him. I think everything lined up up for us this year and we were lucky Ballard was smart enough to pass on Charles Harris for him, which is who I believe we would have taken if Hooker wasn't there. Bothing against Harris, i just dont think he is close to the kind of talent that Hooker is.

[Farns01]

Right after the draft one of Bleacher Report guys was super high on the Hooker pick.  He said (his words not mine) before he became a starter he was on the scout team and had 40 int's.  Even the OSU QB's stopped throw his way.

[AZColt11]

I hope you guys are right.  There's no denying this guy has super athleticism.  And no doubt he was up to the task at OSU.  Now all that remains to be seen is can he take it up a couple notches in the NFL?  Time will tell, but he has the potential.  I think we should go slow on the expectations though.  Just because this guy doesn't make the ProBowl in his rookie season doesn't mean he's a bust.

[Chucklez]

5 hours ago, stitches said:

I haven't watched every single game snap by snap, but according to this:

 

 

By week 4 opponents stopped testing him in the seams and were throwing everything on the boundary as far away from Hooker as possible since he had 3 interceptions and 2 returned for touchdowns in the first two games. The guy also mentions that Clemson would rather test their first round corners than test Hooker down the middle. They didn't throw a single pass down the middle when Hooker was in for the whole game.

 

Just watched this whole video... I knew he was good and at 15 was a steal, but WOW did we get a steal at #15!

[Smonroe]

23 minutes ago, Chucklez said:

Just watched this whole video... I knew he was good and at 15 was a steal, but WOW did we get a steal at #15!

 

Buckeye fan, as most of you know.  I agree, Hooker was a steal. 

 

But let's all remember, while at OSU he faced maybe two teams that had QBs who were NFL caliber.  (Just like just about every other Dback in college).  He has the POTENTIAL to be great, with time.

 

But he's not going to be Ed Reed on September 10th. 

 

Two rookies starting in the D backfield doesn't scare me against the Rams.  Against the Cardinals?  Different story.

[csmopar]

2 hours ago, AZColt11 said:

I hope you guys are right.  There's no denying this guy has super athleticism.  And no doubt he was up to the task at OSU.  Now all that remains to be seen is can he take it up a couple notches in the NFL?  Time will tell, but he has the potential.  I think we should go slow on the expectations though.  Just because this guy doesn't make the ProBowl in his rookie season doesn't mean he's a bust.

i worry about the expectations too.  I hope he handles the pressure well, I think he will.  But the fans will shred him the first time he makes a mistake or two. 

[Valpo2004]

16 hours ago, BProland85 said:

Could Hooker's success be attributed to having both Lattimore and Conley at corner while at Ohio State, or is it the other way around? Watching Hooker, if he cleans up his missed tackles and bad angles, I think he could be special with the vision/range and ball skills he has.

 

I think the safety is more likely to make the corners look good then the corners make the safety look good.

 

Good safety with average corners allows the corners to play more aggressively and get more picks.  

 

All good corners with an average safety would do I think is prevent the safety from being tested/exposed.  Essentially all good corners could do is hide him.  

 

Hooker got a lot of picks and had the ball come his way enough to get first round draft consideration.  He wouldn't have been that highly touted if he was just being hidden by good corners.

 

If a team like Clemson who had a 1st rounder both at QB and at WR didn't want to test him down the field then it says something.  

 

 

[Superman]

16 hours ago, BProland85 said:

Could Hooker's success be attributed to having both Lattimore and Conley at corner while at Ohio State, or is it the other way around? Watching Hooker, if he cleans up his missed tackles and bad angles, I think he could be special with the vision/range and ball skills he has.

 

Based on your post, you've watched him. I don't think his best attributes have very much to do with the abilities of his teammates in the secondary. More often than not, he was cleaning up for them, not the other way around.

 

You should go back and watch his game against Clemson, the CFP game in January. That interception over the top, right at the front corner of the end zone, just amazing. His recognition, take-off, and the range he showed (from center field, back, to the sideline), it's top notch stuff. The corner was beat. Hooker took the ball away because of how good he is, not because of anything the corner did. 

 

I see safeties benefit from the play of the defensive front, for sure. Ohio State has a really good front, but they weren't as good this year as they were the past two. I think Hooker's resume is legit, on it's own merits. If anything, I would say Conley and Lattimore were able to be more aggressive because they had an eraser over the top.

[Malakai432]

Even if the CBs were partially responsible for some of his success which might have been the case, having Davis and Wilson should still help.  I expect Davis to have a solid year and while Wilson should have some growing pains, he has a lot of potential.  Hooker and Wilson will have some growing pains but they couldn't possibly be worse than last year, could they???  I see this as a substantial upgrade even if 2 out of 4 players in the backfield are rookies.

[OffensivelyPC]

The best thing you can do to relieve your cornerbacks and make them look like pro bowlers is to give them a great pass rush.  You throw on top a rangy playmaker at FS and those cornerbacks are all pro candidates.

[Old Colt]

17 hours ago, BProland85 said:

Could Hooker's success be attributed to having both Lattimore and Conley at corner while at Ohio State, or is it the other way around? Watching Hooker, if he cleans up his missed tackles and bad angles, I think he could be special with the vision/range and ball skills he has.

That's a pretty important "IF".....  he did look bad many times and i wonder if we have the coaches to coach him out of those mistakes.....I hope so.  In his position a missed tackle or bad angle equals TD for the other team. 

[throwing BBZ]

15 hours ago, stitches said:

I haven't watched every single game snap by snap, but according to this:

 

 

By week 4 opponents stopped testing him in the seams and were throwing everything on the boundary as far away from Hooker as possible since he had 3 interceptions and 2 returned for touchdowns in the first two games. The guy also mentions that Clemson would rather test their first round corners than test Hooker down the middle. They didn't throw a single pass down the middle when Hooker was in for the whole game.

 

 

 Great piece. Thanks S!