By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Maybe we shoud have seen Amani Hooker’s rise to stardom coming as an Iowa defensive back because he seems to fit the description.

He was star on the football field in high school, but unheralded and mostly unnoticed as a recruit.

Hooker’s only power five scholarship offer came from Iowa, but that was enough.

Just like it was enough for former Iowa defensive backs Josh Jackson and Desmond King, both of whom now play in the NFL after having proved the recruiting gurus wrong by becoming stars at Iowa.

Hooker is now in position to follow his two former teammates to the NFL after having achieved stardom at Iowa in just three seasons.

He was named the Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year this past season, and the NFL took notice.

Hooker declared for the draft shortly after Iowa’s victory over Mississippi State in the Outback Bowl, and he has since been training and getting better acquainted with the NFL landscape.

He performed well at the NFL Combine in February, although, Hooker said he didn’t quite meet his high expectations.

Hooker also participated in Iowa’s Pro Day event on Monday on a limited basis and then met with the media afterwards.

He was upbeat and seemed to be loving the moment.

And it’s easy to see why, considering everything Hooker has accomplished in just three years.

“You’ve got to find the joy in it,” Hooker said. “You’ve got to think, there are a lot of guys that aren’t even in this position that would love to be in my spot. So I’m having fun with it. I have nothing to complain about.”

Hooker is correct in saying that a lot of guys would love to be in his spot because he has a chance to change the course of his life thanks to football.

He has a chance to gain financial security and to play at the highest level.

And he has a chance to keep proving all of his doubters wrong, and there were a lot of them coming out of high school.

Hooker grew up in Minneapolis, but even the Gophers didn’t offer him a scholarship.

“Coming out of high school, I wasn’t the highest recruited at all,” Hooker said. “I mean I got three stars after my senior year.”

Hooker was referring to the five-star scale that is used to rank high school recruits, with five being the highest ranking.

Iowa mostly signs three-star recruits, but some like Hooker don’t get the third star until after having committed to a power five team.

“I’ve felt like I’ve always been the underdog, so I’m just having fun and enjoying this whole thing,” Hooker said.

Hooker is the latest in a growing list of defensive backs who have flourished at Iowa while playing under Phil Parker, who in addition to being the defensive coordinator also coaches the defensive backs.

Hooker came to Iowa with a chip on his shoulder after being under-valued as a recruit, and he was determined to prove his doubters wrong and to reward Parker for believing in him.

Combine that mentaility with a physical skill set that for some reason didn’t impress any power five coaching staff except for Iowa's staff and you had recipe for success.

Parker has a knack for identifying talent and then developing it.

He also has credibility as a former All-Big Ten defensive back and as an original member of Kirk Ferentz’s staff at Iowa.

“It’s not like I just settled for the biggest name school that I had,” Hooker  said. “I trusted the coaching staff and coach Parker as well.”

Parker has the ability to push the right motivational buttons on a daily basis. He can be tough and demanding because he knows from experience that playing college football is tough and demanding.

“He challenges you,” Hooker said. “You weren’t that highly recruited, but you say you want to be great. Well, I believed in you and you believe in him because he recruited you and he offered you a scholarship and he trusts you.”

Trust is a word used often by Iowa defensive backs when referring to Parker.

And defensive backs are wise to trust Parker because just look at the results.

Hooker was the 15^th Iowa defensive back to make first-team All-Big under Parker, and the 11^th since 2009.

And almost all of them have gone on to play in the NFL.

Hooker stands out, though, as a Hawkeye because he played just three seasons at Iowa and didn’t redshirt.

He hasn’t even been out of high school for three years.

“In reality, you’ve just got to put in the work,” Hooker said. “It’s not like it was guaranteed. I didn’t think, after three years I’m definitely coming out. It was definitely just me following coach parker’s philosophy and going to work each day.”

Hooker still can’t figure out why he was overlooked as a high school recruit.

“I have no idea,” he said. “Minnesota football doesn’t get a lot of respect. But we have guys on Northwestern. We have guys on Minnesota and Wisconsin. We have guys all over the place. But Minnesota high school football doesn’t get that much respect.”

Hooker started earning respect the moment he arrived on campus.

He made a significant contribution as a true freshman in 2016 and then showed flashes of stardom as a sophomore, including making a pick-six on the first play from scrimmage in Iowa’s stunning 55-24 drubbing of Ohio State.

The 6-foot-, 210-pound Hooker was versatile enough to where Parker sort of invented a new position for Hooker this past season in which he played some at linebacker and at defensive back depending on Iowa’s defensive formation.

Hooker projects as a safety in the NFL and he said on Monday that being in his position is a dream come true.

Iowa might make it seem easy to take unheralded defensive backs and turn them into college stars and future NFL players, but it’s anything but easy.

The odds of achieving stardom and then making it to the NFL are slim to none.

There is some luck involved with regard to injuries and being in the right place at the right time.

That’s why it never ceases to amaze when players like Hooker defy the odds.

His only regret as he moves forward is that he will never have a chance to be a senior at Iowa. He won’t get to experience the thrill of running on to the field on Senior Day at Kinnick Stadium and sharing that special moment with his family.

“A very tough decision,” Hooker said of declaring for the draft. “You’re giving up that Senior Day. You’re giving up a lot of lasts that are in college that you don’t think about, like I played my last first game, I played my last last game.

“There are a lot of guys in my grade that are going to have another chance at it.”

But there also are a lot guys in Hooker's grade that won't have the chance to play in the NFL.

He is in a unique position because he truly is unique.