Pump the brakes on your Malik Hooker to NFL conversations—at least for the time being.
Ohio State's star safety has seen his name shoot up draft boards after grabbing six interceptions (three that he returned for touchdowns) in 12 starts this season but he told the venerable Tim May of the Columbus Dispatch on Monday he plans to come back to school next season.
“Right now it’s 100 percent sure I’m coming back to Ohio State,” Hooker told The Dispatch.
Hooker is the highest rated free safety by CBS Sports and is projected as a first-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. A redshirt sophomore finally getting a chance to start for the Buckeyes this season, the New Castle, Pennsylvania, native has turned into a star. His three pick-sixes are both a season and career record at Ohio State, with the most recent coming in his team's 30-27 double overtime victory against Michigan on Saturday. Hooker also has 67 total tackles (five for a loss) and a half a sack this season.
“I’m keeping it in perspective just by being humble,” Hooker told The Dispatch. “That’s because the same way things are given to you they can be taken away at any given moment.
“So just being a humble guy, as if I’m not a player that’s known nationally, I feel like I’m still working for the spot that I have.”
The No. 2 Buckeyes are 11-1 and await their postseason fate. Urban Meyer's team should be loaded next season too whether or not Hooker decides to stay. If he does, however, it would add a massive piece back to the fold from a defense that ranks in the top-5 nationally in most categories.
Hooker, like all underclassmen, has until Jan. 16 to decide if he intends to leave school early and enter the NFL Draft.
