WR Iverson Hooks brings Tez Johnson-like abilities to Oregon's offense
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When UAB Blazers wide receiver Iverson Hooks transferred to the Oregon Ducks earlier this offseason, comparisons to former Duck Tez Johnson were almost immediate. They have a similar, slight frame, with both standing 5-foot-10 and Hooks weighing just 10 pounds heavier (175 pounds). Both arrived at Oregon after multiple seasons at small Division-I schools in Alabama, with Johnson coming from Troy.
And then there's the play-style.
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On his way to becoming a fan-favorite in Eugene, Johnson did a majority of his damage from the slot, using his quick-twitch, jittery movement style to find open crevices in the middle of defenses. What he was missing in height and mass, Johnson made up for with an innate ability to get open and act as a security blanket for Oregon quarterbacks Bo Nix (2023) and Dillon Gabriel (2024). In two seasons with the Ducks, the future Tampa Bay Buccaneer racked up over 2,000 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns.
As a Blazer, Hooks filled a similar role.
He operated mostly out of the slot and was the top option for a subpar group of quarterbacks, blossoming in 2025 in catching 72 passes for 927 yards and seven touchdowns. He caught a number of those scores on slot fades, a route that Johnson didn't run much during his time as a Duck. That likely was a result of the lacking receivers beside Hooks and his straight-line speed, which can be utilized in a number of different ways.
With Hooks now in a Ducks uniform and manning a similar position on the field, the similarities between Hooks and Johnson certainly extend past their previous college stops.
"Yeah, I think we saw some of this, the traits that we love to see in the slot," head coach Dan Lanning told reporters on Tuesday, speaking on Hooks. "And obviously Tez is a slot that did really well for us here. And immediately, I think it's easy to say, 'Okay, this is there's some similarities there.' And there certainly is. But what the similarities are is the speed, the twitch, the in and out of breaks, the ability to win on option routes."
Given that both have slender frames, it makes it that much more difficult for defenses to corral the two. Linebackers are much too slow. Safeties are, for the most part, too big. It takes a perfect blend of speed, quick-twitch reactive muscles and a low center of gravity from a slot corner to effectively stop players of Hooks and Johnson's ilk. In college football, there are not many of those defenders.
Something that the Oregon offense asks its receivers to do is block and create yards after the catch — two aspects of the game that can be tough when weighing under 180 pounds.
Johnson was beloved by Duck fans not only because of his highlight-reel plays, but because he didn't shy away from helping create yards for his teammates. Lanning noted that that's something Hooks will have to improve upon, but that doesn't take away his penchant for making plays.
"Has to continue to get physical at the point of attack," Lanning said. "That's somewhere that he can improve for us. But overall, he's a playmaker. He's dynamic ability, similar to Tez."
There have been a number of strong receivers to come out of Oregon in recent years — but none have arguably been more exciting to watch than Johnson, making Hooks' arrival to the team just another thing to look forward to this fall for Duck fans.
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Iverson Hooks drawing comparisons to recent Oregon standout receiver