Malik Hooker Has First Day on the Field in Cleats

Tuesday, Indianapolis Colts second-year safety Malik Hooker posted video of him in the team’s indoor practice facility on the turf in cleats. He says it’s his first day doing as much.

In the video, he backpedals, cuts laterally and diagonally and then runs in a straight line.

There are three videos in this Instagram post. Hit the arrow on the right to flip through.

Last season, Hooker was on his way to Defensive Rookie of the Year candidacy before being taken out for the year by Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Keelan “The Assassin” Cole in Week 7. Hooker was in pursuit of a Jaguars receiver running down the sideline when Cole flew up and collided with Hooker’s legs, buckling his right knee and tearing Hooker’s ACL. He was of course placed on season-ending Injured Reserve later that week.

The Colts drafted Hooker to make plays and take the ball away, and that’s exactly what he did. He got an interception in each of his first three career starts, Carson Palmer and Russell Wilson being two of the three quarterbacks he picked-off.

Looking forward to 2018, Hooker should be back at some point in the regular season, if not by Week 1. We will have a better idea of his status based off his participation level when training camp starts in mid-to-late July. We assume Hooker will return to the starting free safety role next to strong safety Clayton Geathers.