HOOKS back from injury to bolster uab’s passing attack

By Steve Irvine

BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - October 4, 2024

Easing his way back into things wasn’t what Iverson Hooks had in mind.

Sure, the 5-foot-10, 175-pound UAB receiver was coming off a serious knee injury for the third time in his football life. Sure, he had a rehab and recovery process that lasted about a year.  Sure, common sense tells you that patience is of the utmost importance.

Hooks was aware of all this, but it still wasn’t easy to accept when UAB head coach Trent Dilfer and the offensive staff eased him into the season.

“I mean, I was a little angry because I thought I was back,” said Hooks, whose missed the final nine games of the 2023 season after injuring his knee in a loss to Louisiana. “TD just told me to keep my trust in him. He told me that he was going to progress me each week. And each week, my plays got deeper and deeper. I got more plays this week. And then I just had a fast practice last week. He just saw that I was back myself and he told me that I got my job back.”

On a disappointing afternoon last Saturday at Protective Stadium, Hooks provided a bright moment in his first game back to being himself on the football field. He hauled in a 39-yard scoring pass from Jacob Zeno in the third quarter. It was his first touchdown reception since scoring against Georgia Southern in the second game of the 2023 season. It was also UAB’s longest touchdown reception of the season.

“It was a blessing,” said Hooks, finished with three catches for 56 yards. “I just gave thanks to God. Nine months ago, I didn't know if I was going to keep playing football. And people just kept pushing me to get my knee better and stuff like that. So just catching that ball made my day, everybody knew it made my day. Everybody came to me, came together, and they just celebrated with me. I had seen the coverage, so I knew it was a one-on-one. And in my head, I just said, run by him. So, when I came off the ball, he was kind of bailing it a little bit (to the outside). I knew I had a post, so I just leaned on him a little bit, struggled across the middle. And then from that point, it was just beat him to the ball, that's what I did.”

Moving forward, heading into Saturday’s AAC game against visiting Tulane, Hooks should be a big part of a passing game that hasn’t produced like expected thus far.

“When he plays fast, he’s back to where was,” Dilfer said. “Consistency now is (what’s needed). Having come off an injury, your brain says young thing, your body another. I think there has to be a little more consistency there, but he has played well that last two (games).”