Roland L. Hooks (born January 2, 1953 in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

in the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

who played for the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

Early years

Hooks attended Farm Life High School in Vanceboro, NC. He accepted a football scholarship from

. As a sophomore in 1972, when

Lou Holtz Louis Leo Holtz (born January 6, 1937) is an American former football player, coach, and analyst. He served as the head football coach at The College of William & Mary (1969–1971), North Carolina State University (1972–1975), the New York ...

arrived as the new head coach at

, he implemented split-back veer offense to take advantage of the talent at

, that included Hooks,

Stan Fritts Stanley Allen Fritts (born September 18, 1952) is a former professional American football player who played running back for two seasons for the Cincinnati Bengals. He played college football at North Carolina State University. Early years Fri ...

Willie Burden Willie Burden (July 21, 1951 – December 4, 2015) was a professional Canadian football player with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League, who subsequently became an Professor, academic and Sports management, sports administrator. ...

and

Charley Young Charles Lee Young (born October 13, 1952) is a former American football running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys. He was drafted in the first round (22nd overall) of the 1974 NFL Draft. He played college footba ...

. At the time, this was arguably the best group of

s in the nation, they were known as "The Four Stallions" and everyone of them went on to play in a professional football league. He posted 62 carries (sixth on the team) for 283 yards (fourth on the team), a 4.6-yard average and 2 rushing touchdowns. As a junior in 1973, he was part of the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

championship team as a halfback. He registered 48 carries (fifth on the team) for 235 yards (fourth on the team), a 4.9-yard average and one rushing touchdown. As a senior in 1974, he was second on the team behind Fritts with 136 carries for 850 yards, a 6.3-yard average and 9 rushing touchdowns. He finished his college career with 246 carries for 1,368 yards, a 5.6-yard average and 12 rushing touchdowns.

Professional career

Hooks was selected by the

in the 10th round (253rd overall) of the

1975 NFL Draft The 1975 National Football League draft was held January 28–29, 1975, at the New York Hilton at Rockefeller Center in New York City, New York. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Atlanta Falcons selected quarterback Steve Bartko ...

. He scored four touchdowns in the second half on his first four carries (3 yds, 32 yds, 4 yds, 28 yds) in the Bills 51-24 win over the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

on September 9,

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

. Hooks might be best known for a Hail Mary catch he made against the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

on November 22,

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

. The 36-yard touchdown pass from Bills quarterback

Joe Ferguson Joseph Carlton Ferguson Jr. (born April 23, 1950) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He played college football at Arkansas. Early years ...

with five seconds remaining won the game for Buffalo, 20-17. Hooks set up the winning touchdown with a 37-yard, over-the-shoulder catch.The win proved to be crucial in giving Buffalo the final playoff spot in the AFC in

. In 98 career games, including nine starts, he rushed for 1,682 yards on 399 carries and scored 12 touchdowns and added 950 yards on 96 receptions and 3 TDs.

Personal life

Hooks was an assistant football coach at Galena High School in

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

.https://www.washoeschools.net/cms/lib08/NV01912265/Centricity/Domain/67/Annual%20District%20Salaries/2012_Annual_District_Salaries_and_Benefits_for_Web.pdf

References

External links

NFL.com The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

Hooks' Hail Mary catch video
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hooks, Roland 1953 births Living people Sportspeople from Brooklyn Players of American football from New York City American football running backs NC State Wolfpack football players Buffalo Bills players High school football coaches in Nevada