BYU Football Countdown: Player 79
By Adam Gibby
No. 79 Margin Hooks – Receiver – 1997-2000
BYU Football was a really good team and under Lavell Edwards, they had built a dynasty, particularly against the Utes going 21-8 over them, similar to how the Warriors have been so dominant in recent years in the NBA. The game started with the Cougars looking as though they were going to run away with the game going up 26-10 at the end of the third quarter. Being the Holy War though, the Utes rallied and were up 27-26 late in the fourth quarter before the Cougars rallied and scored the game winning touchdown with 23 seconds left in the game.
On that team was Margin Hooks, a senior receiver who was hidden in the shadows of Luke Staley and Brandon Doman. Hooks however, had three key catches against the Utes during that game, and may have been the difference in the win. Hooks wasn’t the best scorer, in fact he reminds me a bit of Mitchell Juergens who made a lot of good catches and was a key contributor to the team, but he just didn’t get in the endzone like you think he would.
Rankings
Impact C+
It is tough to judge the impact of Margin Hooks because in his four years at BYU he only scored 14 times, which is a decent amount, but when you consider that it was about once in every three games, it is not quite as impressive. Four of his scores did come in games where the team won by one score which is impactful in that if he doesn’t score, perhaps the Cougars lose that game, but overall there just isn’t too much to see as far as being an impact.
Statistics B
If you’ve read my other articles you have probably noticed that games played is really important. You have to be on the field to get stats, and players who only play a few games get bad grades from this ranking because DNP is a very bad stat to have. Hooks played all four seasons while at BYU, and for the last three seasons he was first on the team in receiving yards. For a pass first team, that is really good. As mentioned before, Hooks found the endzone 14 times on 180 receptions which isn’t great for scoring, but it shows that he was a dependable midfield receiver. His 2,795 career receiving yards is what sets him apart however. To be that consistent for that long makes him a very special receiver for the Cougars. To this day he is second on BYU’s all time career list for receiving yards.
Memorable Moments C-
As mentioned before, he didn’t really get in the endzone very often for as many times as he touched the ball. He had a very nice 83 yard catch against UNLV in 1999 and as mentioned before scored four touchdowns in games that were decided by a score or less. Overall however, he was just very consistent getting five to six catches every game and picking up around 15 yards per catch. If you love third down conversions, then Hooks will be very memorable to you as he was a hot target on those plays.
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Well we made it to the 70’s! Come back tomorrow for player 78 and if you’ve missed any of the other articles be sure to check them out below. We will be doing another recap soon as well.