It's not hard to make the comparisons.
Both Iverson Hooks and Tez Johnson stand at about 5-foot-10 and weigh around 165-175 pounds. Both hail from Alabama, where they broke out at smaller schools — Johnson at Troy and Hooks at UAB. Both got a call from the Oregon Ducksafter entering the transfer portal, and jumped at the opportunity to play for their "dream school" across the country.
For Johnson, his two seasons in Eugene made him one of the most memorable wide receivers in recent program history, racking up 169 catches for 2,080 yards and 20 touchdowns.
For Hooks, there's pressure from the outside for him to become everything that Tez was in Eugene. Internally, though, it's about doing everything he can to help propel Oregon forward, while remaining
who he is at heart.
“I don't let it really put too much pressure on myself because I like being myself," Hooks said at Oregon's Media Day. "I'm just satisfied and grateful to be able to be in the same conversation as a great receiver like Tez. Both being from Alabama, I just look up to his footsteps and hope that I can carry on in his shoes."
Of course, the pressure of living up to a big name is nothing new for Hooks. This is a man — Iverson Jordan Hooks — who was named after none other than Allen Iverson and Michael Jordan, a result of his older brother playing a video game with the two NBA legends while his mother was in labor.
So when it comes to trying to live up to expectations, Hooks isn't new to this. Still, he knows that he possesses the skills that Oregon needs to add on offense, and what they've been missing since Johnson left in 2024.
"We both are very quick; we have the ability to get open," Hooks said. "They want me to be just as explosive as him. Tez is a guy who can catch a 5-yard route and take it 60. I just want to be a guy who can hopefully do the same thing."
In 2025, that's something that Oregon was missing on the offense. While Dakorien Moore, Jeremiah McClellan, and Malik Benson brought a lot to the table, drives stalled at times without help over the middle, moving the chains with underneath completions.
This offseason, Lanning and his staff set out to change that.
"We weren't necessarily looking for somebody that was smaller, right?" Lanning said of Hooks on Wednesday. "We were looking for somebody that had the play skill set that he has, and it's shown up. You know, he's got short-area quickness, burst. Those are things that really paid off for us at that position in the past.”
That burst is something that has caught the attention of Evan Stewart so far this offseason. The veteran WR will be among the first to tell you about his own speed, but when it came to getting off the line, even he had to marvel at what Hooks could do.
"He's very quick and twitchy; that was the first impression," Stewart said. "We were running 10-yard accelerations, and I was like, 'He's way quicker than me.' He's got wheels. He's got good routes. Great recognition of the field and open spaces. He should be a good player."
Hooks' recognition comes from his high school playing days. Before it became clear that he was too small to play quarterback at the college level, he was a dynamic dual-threat option behind center while playing for Pike Road in Alabama. While he may not feel comfortable enough yet to offer any pointers to Dante Moore, he did say at media day that being able to recognize a defensive look and find the holes is one of his superpowers.
Going into the new season, Oregon isn't short on talent at the wide receiver position; far from it. No matter what they want to do — burn over the top, route you to death, or make incredible catches with defenders draped — there's talent in the room to get the job done. Now, they've got Hooks in the slot to kill with quickness and move the chains.
Just like Tez used to do in Eugene. It may be a big role to live up to, but Hooks seems ready for it. He's had big expectations put on his shoulders since birth.
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Iverson Hooks following Tez Johnson's path to Oregon
