Ohio State football: Marcus Hooker’s time at OSU likely over

The Ohio State football player was arrested for an OVI a couple of weeks ago. With the newly released footage of the arrest, his time in the program is likely over.

Marcus Hooker had all the opportunities in the world to succeed at Ohio State. He was the brother of one of the best safeties in the last 10 years to play for the Buckeyes. He came in when the Buckeyes had no incumbent starter at safety. This year was supposed to be his shot.

That shot was likely squandered after a second DUI/OVI arrest on March 13th. After the first one in 2018, he was suspended and was eventually allowed back on the team. He got a chance to play last year and was given a shot to grab the starting safety spot.

After poor play, he was eventually relegated to the bench. Now after a second arrest, his time is likely done in Columbus. A second arrest is bad enough, but the way it happened makes it worse after footage was released by OSU police of him asleep at the wheel.

Hooker likely will regret his actions for the rest of his life. He is indefinitely suspended by the team and will soon likely be dismissed. Even if by some miracle he isn’t dismissed, he likely won’t see the field after being buried in the depth chart behind other players who have shown the coaching staff some things.

Ohio State will be fine without Hooker. It’s still not a good look to have a player that clearly has issues with alcohol and or drugs. He needs to get the help he needs and football likely doesn’t need to be part of the equation for him moving forward. At least not with the Ohio State football program.

What will be interesting is finding out who does walk away with that safety spot when the season rolls around.