INDIANAPOLIS – Three weeks to the day after the Colts selected Malik Hooker with the 15th overall pick, the Ohio State safety signed his rookie contract.
Hooker is the sixth 2017 draft pick of the Colts to sign this month.
The Colts are still waiting for Hooker to get on the field in 2017 after he is recovering from January surgery.
At last week's rookie minicamp, Hooker said the goal remains to return to the field for Training Camp.
Outside linebacker Tarell Basham (third-round pick) and defensive tackle Grover Stewart (fifth-round pick) are the lone Colts' draftees yet to sign their rookie deals.
Hooker, 6-2, 205 pounds, was selected by the Colts in the first round (15th overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft. He played in 26 games (13 starts) at Ohio State and totaled 84 tackles (49 solo), 5.5 tackles for loss, half a sack, seven interceptions (three returned for touchdowns) and 11 passes defensed. Hooker was named a unanimous First Team All-America choice in 2016 and a Thorpe Award semifinalist, an award given annually to the nation's top defensive back. He helped lead the Buckeyes to a 2015 Fiesta Bowl win and a 2016 appearance in the College Football Playoff.
In 2016, Hooker started all 13 games and tallied 74 tackles (43 solo), 5.5 tackles for loss, half a sack, seven interceptions (three returned for touchdowns) and 11 passes defensed. He led the nation in interceptions returned for touchdowns, ranked second nationally in interception return yards (181) and finished third in the nation in total interceptions (most in the Big Ten). Hooker was a consensus First Team All-America selection earning first-team honors from Walter Camp, The Associated Press, USA Today, Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fox Sports, CBS Sports, AFCS and the FWAA. He saw action in all 13 games in 2015 and registered 10 tackles (six solo). In 2014, Hooker redshirted as a true freshman.
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