Ohio State's BIA secondary landed one representative on BTN's All-Decade team of the 2010s.
Former Ohio State safety Malik Hooker was among those named to the All-Decade team by BTN on Wednesday. He's the third Buckeye to be named to the squad, joining offensive linemen Wyatt Davis and Billy Price.
#BTNAllDecade DBs = playmakers
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) July 1, 2020
No list of the best defensive backs of the 2010s is complete without @OhioStateFB's 2016 consensus All-American @MalikHooker24.
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Former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer and linebackers Joshua Perry and James Laurinaitis were among those who voted for Hooker to be named to the All-Decade team.
"His athleticism, his ball skills and ability to track the football is as good as I've ever seen."@CoachUrbanMeyer and other panelists tell you why @OhioStateFB great @MalikHooker24 was an easy choice for #BTNAllDecade.
— Ohio State on BTN (@OhioStateOnBTN) July 1, 2020
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In an interview with BTN after his selection, Hooker said he was honored to be named to the team and reminisced on his career at Ohio State, naming his pick-six against Michigan in 2016 as his favorite memory from his time as a Buckeye.
"It's an honor, just to even be in that category."@OhioStateFB great @MalikHooker24 joins @BTNDaveRevsine to discuss making the #BTNAllDecade Team, and much more.
— Ohio State on BTN (@OhioStateOnBTN) July 1, 2020
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Hooker said he believes “being coachable” was what enabled him to become the All-Decade-caliber player he ultimately became as a Buckeye.
“I had three different (position) coaches, so just taking their advice off the field as well as on the field and applying it to my everyday game and being able to take coaching from the offensive side of the ball too, and then just applying that all in one, and I feel like that's what really made me, being able to be coachable,” Hooker said.
Ohio State had a multitude of star defensive backs over the past 10 years, including cornerbacks Denzel Ward, Jeff Okudah and Marshon Lattimore and safety Vonn Bell, which gave the Buckeyes the potential to have multiple defensive backs on the All-Decade team. BTN's voting panel, however, only selected one Buckeye DB to the first team, with former Minnesota safety Antoine Winfield Jr., Michigan State cornerback Darqueze Dennard and Iowa cornerback Desmond King taking up the other three spots.
— Jeff Okudah (@jeffokudah) July 1, 2020
Okudah and Bell were named as second-team All-Decade selections.
BTN will continue announcing the members of its All-Decade team on Thursday, when it will name the wide receivers and defensive linemen. Quarterback, specialist and head coach selections will conclude the All-Decade reveal on Friday.
