Allen Park — Lions rookie quarterback Hendon Hooker can’t do much of anything on a football field right now, but he’s doing all the little things off the field that are positioning him to hit the ground running once he’s medically cleared.
A third-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Hooker is working his way back from an ACL injury he suffered last November. In the meantime, he isn’t risking falling any further behind than he has to during his rehab. In fact, he’s trying to stay ahead, every way he can.
That process started the night he was drafted. That Friday, Hooker got a congratulatory phone call from Lions tight end James Mitchell, a former college teammate at Virginia Tech. With the connection, the quarterback saw an opportunity to get a head start on learning about his new home. He asked Mitchell to forward him all of Detroit’s offensive formations.
“He said he was on a trip with his girlfriend at the time, so he had to wait a couple hours,” Hooker said. “He just gave me the formations. That’s where it starts. You’ve got to know where everyone aligns. Then the plays, the protections and the concepts come after that. That’s just the basics. If you get those basics right, then everything else can kind of follow suit.”
With rookie minicamp this weekend, Hooker is adding a visual component to his playbook studies. Wandering the sidelines with a football in hand, he’s been standing directly behind the other quarterback on the roster, former Nebraska and Kansas State standout Adrian Martinez, and visualizing each snap at practice.
“Entering this year is the same model, same mentality I’ve had all my life, and that’s getting better every day,” Hooker said. “Never stay the same. You either get better or you get worse, and I don’t want to have any decline in my game. I’m continuing to work my tail off, day-to-day, mental reps, taking reps behind the quarterbacks that are in, and just playing the game in my mind until I can actually get out there. I’m still preparing and I’m hungry. I’m ready to compete.”
Hooker is also making a clear effort to build relationships. With a big smile and engaging personality, he can be seen bouncing between position groups, both offense and defense, having conversations with new teammates and making his presence felt.
“Honestly, I just enjoy being around my guys,” he said. “We’re coming in here working hard every day, so why not have fun while doing it. Building those relationships, day-to-day, and creating moments and memories, that’s what it’s about.”
The Lions have declined to set a timetable for Hooker’s return to football, but in a recent interview, coach Dan Campbell compared the pending rookie season to a redshirt year in college. Hooker, not surprisingly, would return to action today if he could, but he’s resigned to the team’s patient plan for him.
In the meantime, he’ll continue to prepare in other ways.
“We’re just taking a different route, just relax,” Hooker said. “So with the routes on air, it’s kind of tough, because I want to do things that I can’t really do right now. In terms of just speeding my feet up, putting a lot of pressure on that left leg and trying to change directions that I can’t do right now.
“I’m a competitor. I love the game of football. I love going out there, taking control of the offense and having fun. That’s what it’s about. The game is fun. It’s about memories. Whenever I can get out there and do my thing, that’s what I’ll do.”
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers