Austin Manuel Hooper (born October 29, 1994) is an

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 ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

for the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

of the

National Football League 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 ...

(NFL). 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 ...

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

, and was drafted by the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

in the third round of the

2016 NFL Draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

Early years

After leaving

Pine Valley Middle School The San Ramon Valley Unified School District (SRVUSD) is a public school district in Contra Costa County, California. It has 36 school sites serving more than 32,000 students within the communities of Alamo, Danville, Blackhawk, Diablo, and ...

San Ramon, California San Ramon (Spanish: ''San Ramón'', meaning "St. Raymond") is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, located within the San Ramon Valley, and east of San Francisco. San Ramon's population was 84,605 per the 2020 census, maki ...

and graduating from St. Raymond School in Dublin, California, Hooper attended De La Salle High School in

Concord, California Concord ( ) is the largest city in Contra Costa County, California. According to an estimate completed by the United States Census Bureau, the city had a population of 129,295 in 2019 making it the eighth largest city in the San Francisco Ba ...

where he played for the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team. He was rated by

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

as a three-star recruit and committed to

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

to play college football. Hooper was listed as a

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

by Rivals and also by

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

who had him rated as a four-star recruit and the #261 player overall in the nation regardless of position.

College career

After redshirting his first year at Stanford in 2013, Hooper played in all 13 games as a redshirt freshman in 2014. He finished the season with 40 receptions for 499 yards and two

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether Rush (gridiron football), running, Forward pass, passing, returning a Kickoff (gridiron football), kickoff or Punt (gridiron football), punt, or recovering a Turno ...

. As a sophomore in 2015, Hooper had 34 receptions for 438 yards for six touchdowns, including a career best 79 yards and a touchdown in an upset of then #6

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

. He was a finalist for the

John Mackey Award The John Mackey Award is presented annually to college football's most outstanding tight end. Established in 2000 by the Nassau County Sports Commission, the award is given annually to the tight end who best exemplifies the play, sportsmanship, a ...

, and First-team All-Pac-12.

Collegiate statistics

Professional career

On January 4, 2016, it was announced that Hooper would enter the

, forfeiting his last two years of eligibility. Hooper came to the decision after discussing it with his head coach David Shaw and his family. He chose to declare due to the draft class being really thin at tight end and his draft stock being high after coming off an impressive season. He was one of 15 tight ends to receive an invitation to the

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footb ...

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

. He had an overall impressive performance, finishing third among all tight ends in the

40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...

, fourth in the bench press, fifth in the

three-cone drill The three-cone drill, 3-cone drill or L-drill is a test performed by American football players. It is primarily run to evaluate the agility, quickness and fluidity of movement of players by scouts. It is most commonly seen at the NFL Combine in p ...

, and finished sixth among his position group in the vertical. On March 17, 2016, Hooper opted to participate at Stanford's Pro Day and chose to only perform positional drills for scouts and team representatives from all 32 NFL teams, that also included San Francisco 49ers' head coach

Chip Kelly Charles Edward Kelly (born November 25, 1963) is an American football coach who is the head coach of the UCLA Bruins. He came to prominence as the head coach of the Oregon Ducks from 2009 to 2012, whom he led to four consecutive BCS bowl game a ...

and Oakland Raiders' offensive coordinator

Bill Musgrave William Scott Musgrave (born November 11, 1967) is an American football coach and former player who is the senior offensive assistant for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He is also a former quarterback, offensive coor ...

. Throughout the pre-draft process, Hooper attended private workouts and visits with the

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

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

, and

. Hooper was projected to be a second or third round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked the second best tight end prospect in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com and the third best tight end by ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

'' and NFL analyst Mike Mayock.

Atlanta Falcons

The

selected Hooper in the third round (81st overall) of the

. He was the second tight end selected, behind Arkansas'

Hunter Henry Hunter Henry (born December 7, 1994) is an American football tight end for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Arkansas and was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the second round o ...

who the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

selected in the second round (35th overall). Hooper was reunited with former Stanford teammate

Levine Toilolo Levine Joseph Toilolo (born July 30, 1991) is an American football tight end who is a free agent. He played college football at Stanford, and was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft. Early years Toilolo was ...

2016 season

On May 5, 2016, the Falcons signed Hooper to a four-year, $3.21 million contract that includes a

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

of $773,428. Throughout his first

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events, ...

, Hooper competed with

and

Jacob Tamme Jacob Francis Tamme ( ; born March 15, 1985) is a former American football tight end. He played college football at Kentucky and was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the fourth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. Tamme also played for the Denve ...

for job as the starting tight end. Head coach Dan Quinn named him the third tight end on the Falcons' depth chart behind Tamme and Toilolo. Hooper made his NFL debut in the Falcons' season-opener against the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

and made the first catch of his career on a 14-yard pass by Matt Ryan in the third quarter before being tackled by Buccaneers' safety

Bradley McDougald Bradley McDougald (born November 15, 1990) is an American football safety who is a free agent. He played college football at Kansas and was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs as undrafted free agent in 2013. He has also played for the Tampa Bay Bu ...

during a 31–24 loss. On October 2, Hooper caught his first NFL touchdown on a 42-yard pass by Matt Ryan in a 48–33 victory over the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

. During a Week 8 matchup against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

, Hooper earned his first NFL start and had a season-high five receptions for 41 yards in a narrow 33–32 victory. Starting tight end Jacob Tamme suffered a shoulder injury during the game and was placed on injured/reserve for the remainder of the season on November 21, 2016. The following week, he made three receptions for 46 yards and scored on a two-yard pass from Matt Ryan as the Falcons routed the Buccaneers 43–28. In Week 15, Hooper caught a nine-yard pass during a 41-13 victory over the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

, but left after suffering a grade-2 knee sprain that caused him to miss the remaining two games of the regular season. He finished his only season under offensive coordinator

Kyle Shanahan Kyle Michael Shanahan (born December 14, 1979) is an American football coach who is the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He came to prominence as the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons, wh ...

in the season with 19 receptions for 271 receiving yards and three touchdowns in three starts and 14 games. The Falcons finished the 2016 season atop the

NFC South The National Football Conference – Southern Division or NFC South is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It was created prior to the 2002 NFL season, when ...

with an 11-5 record. On January 14, 2017, Hooper appeared in his first playoff game and caught a ten-yard pass as the Falcons defeated the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

36–20 in the NFC Wild Card Round. After the Falcons defeated the

in the

NFC Championship The NFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the National Football Conference (NFC) and one of the two semi-final playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world. ...

, they went on to face 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 ...

Super Bowl LI Super Bowl LI was an American football game played at NRG Stadium in Houston, Houston, Texas, on February 5, 2017, to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2016 NFL season, 2016 season. The American Football Confer ...

. During the game, Hooper made three receptions for 32 yards and scored a 19-yard touchdown in the second quarter of the Falcons 34–28 overtime loss.

2017 season

Hooper entered training camp slated as the starting tight end after the retirement of

. He was named the starting tight end to begin the regular season under new offensive coordinator

Steve Sarkisian Stephen Sarkisian (born March 8, 1974)Stephens, Ken. – "QB GENEALOGY – Steve Sarkisian is latest in long line of talented BYU quarterbacks". – FUN FACT, Sarkisian’s father is actually Texas Tech Head Coach, Joey McGuire. ''Dallas Mo ...

. Hooper started the Falcons' season-opener at the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

and made two receptions for a career-high 128 receiving yards and caught a career-long 88-yard touchdown reception thrown by quarterback Matt Ryan in a 23–17 victory. During a Week 4 contest against 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. ...

, Hooper tied his then career-high with five receptions for 50 receiving yards during a 23–17 loss. On October 15, 2017, he caught a career-high seven passes for 48 yards in the Falcons' 20–17 loss to the

. At the midpoint of the 16-game season, Hooper was second on the team in receiving yards only to

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list th ...

wide receiver

Julio Jones Quintorris Lopez "Julio" Jones Jr. (; born February 8, 1989) is an American football wide receiver for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama, and was drafted by the Atlanta Falco ...

. Overall, Hooper finished the 2017 season with 49 receptions for 526 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns.

2018 season

Hooper remained as the Falcons' starting tight end going into the 2018 season. He scored his first receiving touchdown of the season in Week 2 against the

. In Week 11, against the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

, he had a career-high 10 receptions for 56 yards and a touchdown in the loss. He finished the season with 71 receptions for 660 yards and four touchdowns. On January 15, 2019, Hooper was named to his first Pro Bowl as a replacement for Eagles tight end

Zach Ertz Zachary Adam Ertz (born November 10, 1990) is an American football tight end for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the 2013 NFL draft and later won Supe ...

2019 season

In Week 3 against the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

, Hooper caught six passes for 66 yards and two touchdowns as the Falcons lost 27–24. In Week 4 against the

, Hooper caught nine passes for a career-high 130 yards in the 24–10 loss. In Week 6 against the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

, Hooper caught 8 passes for 117 yards and a touchdown in the 34–33 loss. In Week 10 against the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

, Hooper had four receptions for 17 yards and a touchdown in the 26–9 win. Hooper suffered an MCL sprain during the win and was ruled out for the next three games. In Week 16 against the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

, Hooper caught seven passes for 82 yards in the 24–12 win. On January 20, 2020, Hooper was named to his second Pro Bowl as a replacement for 49ers tight end

George Kittle George Krieger Kittle (born October 9, 1993) is an American football tight end for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Iowa, and was drafted by the 49ers in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL ...

. Overall, Hooper finished the 2019 season with 75 receptions for 787 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns.

Cleveland Browns

2020 season

On March 20, 2020, Hooper signed a four-year deal with the

. The deal is worth $44 million, with a $10 million signing bonus. Hooper finished the 2020 regular season with 46 catches for 435 yards and four touchdowns in his debut season for the Browns. In the Wild Card Round against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

, Hooper caught seven passes for 46 yards and a touchdown on 11 targets.

2021 season

Austin Hooper Browns-Steelers OCT2021 (cropped)

Hooper was the starting tight end going into the season for the Browns. He finished the 2021 season with 38 receptions for 345 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns. On March 17, 2022, Hooper was released by the Browns.

Tennessee Titans

On March 21, 2022, Hooper signed a one-year contract with the

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

References

External links

TwitterTennessee Titans bioStanford Cardinal bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hooper, Austin 1994 births Living people American football tight ends Atlanta Falcons players Cleveland Browns players People from San Ramon, California Players of American football from California Sportspeople from the San Francisco Bay Area Stanford Cardinal football players National Conference Pro Bowl players Tennessee Titans players De La Salle High School (Concord, California) alumni