Iowa's first road game feels like a home game for Amani Hooker
By William Rodriguez
It’s going to be a special Saturday for Amani Hooker.
“Sometimes it brings the best out of guys. What you hope it doesn’t do is, ‘Hey, I need 47 tickets,’ and the guy’s working all week about getting tickets lined up from his buddies, all that kind of stuff,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said.
“I know he’s been scrambling for tickets from other players,” Iowa senior safety Jake Gervase said.
“A lot of guys have passed him their tickets for this game,” Iowa receiver Nick Easley said.
Even if finding extra tickets for friends and family has been a little taxing for the only Minnesotan on the Iowa roster, Hooker saw limited action in Iowa’s last game in Minneapolis. This year, the junior safety will play in front of dozens of fans as one of the one of the leaders on the Hawkeyes defense.
“They’ve seen me play in high school and little league and now get to see me play at the college level and starting,” Hooker said. “It should be fun and an awesome experience for them too. I’m more comfortable because I know I have all the people that have been watching me play.”
Playing in front of friends and family is nothing new for Iowa natives like Gervase, who says Saturday will be something extra special for Hooker.
“He wants to go out there and play his best game and we want to do that for him, because he’s playing in front of his home family and friends and he’ll have a lot more people there in person,” Gervase said. “So I think it adds a little something for those guys that do get to go home and play in front of their home crowd.”
And in Hooker’s case play for the Floyd of Rosedale trophy — the pig that he hopes to be hoisting early Saturday evening.”
“I’m gonna try and get in there, but sometimes the seniors, they be rushing to it and get underneath it,” Hooker said. “But as long as we get it, that’s fine.”
Hooker and the defense will try to go get Floyd by repeating their performances from the last two years against Minnesota, the Hawkeyes holding the Gophers to 10 points or less in both victories.
For more Hawkeye coverage, follow @AdamJRossow and @HawkeyeHQ on Twitter and Facebook — and Hawkeye Headquarters on OurQuadCities.com all season.
EARLIER REPORT
Iowa Hawkeye safety Amani Hooker will be spending the Hawkeyes’ first road game of the season with a sense of familiarity. Hooker is a native of Minnesota and will be heading home to play against the Gophers on Saturday.
While Hooker goes through his normal preparation for the week, he also has been doing his best to make sure his friends and family are able to get tickets to see him play. Hooker hopes that his return home helps him give a good performance on the field.
“They’ve seen me play in high school and little league,” said Hooker. “Now (they) get to see me play at the college level and starting. It should be a fun and an awesome experience for them too. I’m more comfortable because I know I have all the people that have been watching me play.”
The Hawkeyes and Gophers square off on Saturday with kickoff at 2:30.
For more Hawkeye coverage, follow @AdamJRossow and @HawkeyeHQ on Twitter and Facebook — and Hawkeye Headquarters on OurQuadCities.com all season.
