Marcus Hooker is back with the Ohio State football team.
The fourth-year safety has been reinstated to the football program after he was suspended for spring practices following his second arrest for operating a vehicle under the influence. He will not be suspended for any games during the season and will be eligible to play in the season opener.
“He's back with the team,” Ryan Day said Friday at Big Ten Media Days. “He's going through a tough time, but he's learned a lot from it and paid his dues and went through a bunch of different programs and so, we're supporting Marcus and he's back on the team.”
Hooker was initially suspended from the team indefinitely after he was charged with OVI on March 13, when Columbus Police found him asleep behind the wheel of his car in a McDonald's drive-thru. Body camera video obtained by NBC4 showed that police officers had to break open the passenger-side rear window of his car in order to remove him from the vehicle – which was still in drive – after their efforts to wake him were unsuccessful. Hooker pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge and was sentenced with a $375 fine, a three-day suspended jail sentence and a one-year suspension of his driver's license with limited driving privileges.
Previously, Hooker was suspended for Ohio State's 2018 season opener after he was charged with driving under the influence in his home state of Pennsylvania.
Hooker started Ohio State's first five games of 2020 at safety, in which he played 288 snaps and recorded 15 total tackles, an interception in the Buckeyes' win over Penn State and two pass breakups. He played only on special teams in the College Football Playoff, however, after missing the Big Ten Championship Game with an injury.
With Hooker's return, Ohio State regains one of its most experienced defensive backs, which bolsters the Buckeyes' depth as they move toward potentially playing two safeties more regularly in 2021. Still, he'll likely have to earn his way back up the depth chart. Josh Proctor is expected to start at free safety while Lathan Ransom, Marcus Williamson, Craig Young, Ronnie Hickman, Cameron Martinez, Bryson Shaw, Kourt Williams and Jantzen Dunn are also among those vying for playing time at the inside defensive back spots.
