OXNARD, Calif. 鈥� Once upon a time, Malik Hooker was a greenhorn in the NFL looking to prove he was worth being the 15th-overall pick in the draft. Ten years later, the former Ohio State superstar finds himself with the 草莓视频下载入口 with a resurgent career post-injury, and a part of a rebuilt defense with a ton of expectations draped over them.
Hooker is no stranger to pressure and, as the elder statesman in the Cowboys' defensive backs group, at only 30 years old, the former Unanimous All-American is looked upon to be a mentor to the new guard.
"It's just about repetition at this point now, you know, building it, and finally starting to put it all together," he said of the defensive progress under Christian Parker. "We've got a lot of young guys that's just playing their butts off right now, making plays, and that's what makes the team so special for us.
"Not only the old guys making the plays, and the communication stuff, but you could take the old guys out, put the young guys out there, and they'd be just as good. It's special to see."
That's saying a mouthful for a defense that, only one year ago, looked wildly different than it does right now 鈥� especially when it comes to age. From Caleb Downs to Devin Moore, Shavon Revel to Alijah Clark, and even Jalen Thompson, Cobie Durant and P.J. Locke, it's a far younger unit that, on paper, also appears to be upgraded in a major way.
And, speaking of the younger players, they're headlined by Downs, the 11th-overall pick that, according to Hooker, has an excellent chance of being something rare for the Cowboys.
As a former Buckeye himself, Hooker saw Downs coming down the pike long before fans of the Cowboys did and, as such, all it took was for the rookie to come in and, like Hooker several years ago, prove he is worth the headlines.
"Every play he lines up, he feels like he's gonna win that rep [against anybody], and that's the type of mentality we want on this defense; and especially coming from a guy that we're expecting to play a lot," he said of Downs. "And not only play a lot, but to be a difference maker in our defense. Man, to see what he brings to the stable this year too, 'cause, right now, he's everything they hyped him up to be 鈥� a special player.
"So happy to be here with him. Can't wait to see not only what this year brings for him, but the rest of his career."
The energy feels different this year for Hooker and the defense, and a large part of that is Parker and the staff he's built, but also the moves the Cowboys' front office has made to make sure what happened in 2025, stays in 2025.
As training camp speeds along, and the defense continues to give one of the best offenses in the league absolute hell on a daily basis, Hooker can barely contain his smile after pushing through one of the worst defensive campaigns in the history of the NFL.
"Absolutely. I mean, absolutely. I've been around a lot of coaches that kind of coach the same thing, being loud in the meeting rooms and stuff like that, but it's just the confidence of what guys are saying and knowing what their job is," he said of Parker and his staff. " 鈥� I'll say that's really the biggest聽 difference.
"Not only just communicating and knowing your job, but also knowing who you're talking to, who is affecting the play, or this game. I feel like that's more the difference of where we're at right now."
Hooker is seen as a key piece to help stabilize the defensive backfield, and particularly with so much youth to account for and to coach up, and there's no other place he'd rather be right now than exactly where he is.
