Buckeyes Now

Malik Hooker is Big Ten All-Decade Safety

One of the all-time great Ohio State safeties earned the honor of a lifetime on Wednesday

Brendan Gulick

Malik Hooker is Big Ten All-Decade Safety
Malik Hooker is Big Ten All-Decade Safety /

Former Ohio State standout safety Malik Hooker was selected on the Big Ten Network All-Decade First Team on Wednesday. Hooker's selection means he was one of the best two safeties to play in the Big Ten over the last ten seasons. Hooker is the third Buckeye to earn First Team status and the seventh Ohio State representative on the All-Decade Team.

Hooker hails from New Castle, Pennsylvania and finished his career as a consensus All-American (2016). He was selected in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft (15th overall) by the Indianapolis Colts.

Hooker was on the team for three years, but only played two seasons for the Scarlet and Grey. He took a redshirt as a freshman on Urban Meyer's team that won the 2014 inaugural College Football Playoff National Championship. Hooker exploded onto the scene in 2016 after playing in only six games during the 2015 season. He intercepted seven passes, three of which he brought back for touchdowns. Hooker recorded 74 tackles his junior year and was recognized as one of the premier safeties in all of college football.

Ohio State Buckeyes Selected for the BTN All-Decade Teams

RB: Ezekiel Elliott (second team)

OL: Wyatt Davis (first team), Billy Price (first team), Taylor Decker (second team) and Pat Elflein (second team)

LB: Ryan Shazier (second team)

CB: Malik Hooker (first team)

The Big Ten Football All-Decade Team is selected by college football experts chosen by the Big Ten Network. which will be announcing selections from 2010-19 across BTN social media platforms (Twitter, YouTube, Facebook) throughout the week.

The Big Ten All-Decade Team will continue being released throughout the week as follows:

Thursday: Wide Receivers and Defensive Lineman
Friday: Quarterbacks, Kicker, Punter, All-Purpose and Coach

Stay tuned to BuckeyesNow and all of our social media outlets (@BuckeyesNowSI) on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for continued coverage!

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Brendan Gulick
BRENDAN GULICK

Brendan Gulick is the publisher for BuckeyesNow, Cleveland Baseball Insider and Cavs Insider on the FanNation Network. He is also an accomplished host and play-by-play voice on TV and radio, including on Big Ten Network and NCAA.com where he's called 45 NCAA national championships. Gulick is an update anchor and fill-in host at 92.3 The Fan in Cleveland, Ohio.

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