SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. _ Fans of Ohio State All-American safety Malik Hooker may be familiar with his social media hashtags, but not the story behind them.
The redshirt sophomore from New Castle, Pa., said Thursday he has played this season to honor the memory of two cousins. On his Instagram account, which since September has risen to 35,600 followers from 10,000, Hooker pays tribute to Victor Ward and Delonte Searcy with (hashtag)RIPVIC and (hashtag)RIPLONT.
At Thursday's media day for Saturday's PlayStation Fiesta Bowl against Clemson, Hooker told landof10.com's Ben Axelrod that Searcy, 18, died in an automobile accident on Jan. 2, 2009, while Ward, 26, was killed in a shooting on May 2. Hooker has a tattoo on his arm to remember Ward.
"I feel like I dedicated the majority of the season to what he has done," Hooker said of Ward. "If it wasn't for them ... I wouldn't be here. They tell me 'Keep working, keep doing what you're doing.' "
Hooker said he didn't want the deaths, especially Ward's, to cause him to lose focus. In his first season as a starter, Hooker leads the Buckeyes with six interceptions, including a school-record three for touchdowns.
"It molded me into the person I am today," Hooker said. "Not a lot of people can deal with something like that and keep focused. Most of the times people deal with a death, two deaths, somebody close to me like that, they tend to get off track and feel like they have nothing left to fight for. I use that as motivation."
Hooker called it "a humbling" thing to honor Ward and Searcy.
"I give credit to God mostly because I couldn't I couldn't do anything without Him, (but) I feel like they're out there with me, too," he said.
