Austin Hooper

possesses long arms and strong hands to latch onto the chest plate of opponents, showing tenacity and strength to lock on and sustain blocks. slips off the line and shows good awareness and enough agility to adjust to moving targets and make the block, turning and sealing defenders with good core strength, knee bend and awareness of where his teammates.

Accelerates smoothly and possesses good balance and agility to generate separation as a route-runner. Collects the ball easily, showing good hands, as well as the hand-eye coordination to pluck from outside of his frame. Determined runner after the catch, lowering his shoulder and spinning through would-be tacklers for additional yardage. Intriguing prospect whose best football still lies ahead of him.

questionable straight-line speed to challenge down the seam and is forced to swing his arms, at times, to maintain balance. quite effective in a complementary role for the cardinal but was never the featured target.

IN OUR VIEW

strengths

Possesses an athletic, lanky frame with broad shoulders and long limbs that should be able to withstand another 10-15 pounds of muscle without a significant loss of quickness. Surprisingly effective in-line blocker given his age and build.

weaknesses

Not yet the sum of his parts and may need a year in an NFL weight room before seeing significant time on the field. Accelerates smoothly but doesn't possess ideal initial quickness, often being the last of Stanford's "linemen" off the ball.

hooper's combination of size, strength, athleticism and soft hands made him a versatile weapon in stanford's offense and he should be able to maintain this positional flexibility in the nfl, projecting best as a "move" tight end or h-back initially while he gains strength to handle in-line blocking duties. while perhaps not as polished as scouts would prefer, hooper's upside could generate day two consideration in another weak class overall at tight end.

--Rob Rang (1/5/16)

Attended De La Salle (Calif.) while playing for head coach Bob Ladouceur.

Four-star recruit by 247Sports and ESPN.

Nation's 261st-best overall player by ESPN, 25th-best tight end by Scout.

Nation's 20th-best defensive end by ESPN, 28th by PrepStar.

California's 25th-best overall prospect in by ESPN, 30th by 247Sports.

2012 Tacoma News Tribune Western 100.

2012 PrepStar All-West Region.

2012 first team all-state (CalHiSports and MaxPreps).

2012 all-NorCal by MaxPreps .

Two-time San Francisco Chronicle all-Metro.

Sports Illustrated High School Player of the Week (Jan. 10, 2013).

Led school to the 2010, 2011 and 2012 CIF Open Division state titles.

2013 Semper Fidelis All-America Bowl.

Team captain in 2012 .

De La Salle went 15-0 and ranked No. 1 nationally by ESPN and MaxPreps in 2012.

11 receptions for 293 yards and three touchdowns with 39 tackles and 8.0 sacks in 2012.

Nine catches for 182 yards and two touchdowns with 46 tackles and 10.5 sacks in 2011.

Lettered in track and field.

All-league in shot put with personal-best 57-8.

Born in San Mateo, Calif..

Full name is Austin Manuel Hooper.

Parents are Michael and Lillian Hooper.

Father played football at San Diego State.

Uncle, Greg, played fullback at Stanford (1979-82).

Uncle, Chip, played professional tennis .

One younger brother, Justin, one younger sister, Alexis.

Brother, Justin, plays baseball at UCLA.

Majoring in psychology

2015