On The Plains with Shane Hooks: ‘I wasn’t supposed to be here’

AUBURN, Ala. – Shane Hooks wants to make sure when he makes plays in Jordan-Hare Stadium this season, the fans know him simply as “Hollywood.” The 6-foot-4 wide receiver certainly lived up to the nickname during Saturday’s scrimmage catching two touchdowns, including a spectacular one-handed grab in the back of the end zone that caught everybody's attention.

“If it were a game, it would be on Sportscenter tonight,” Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze said.

Hooks is a graduate transfer from Jackson State, where he totaled 82 receptions for 974 yards and 12 touchdowns the past two seasons. He began his college career at Ohio University. The nickname, however, started back at Olympia High School in Florida. Hooks came out to practice one day with sunglasses on under his helmet, and his coach said, “You know what? You’re Hollywood.” It stuck.

Don’t be fooled by the nickname, though. Hooks might have a knack for making spectacular plays, but he also prides himself on hard work. He plays with a different edge because, as a premature baby who was born three months early, he knows he’s blessed to be playing at all.

“I love doing what I do for the people that can’t do it,” Hooks said. “I wasn’t supposed to be here. So, that’s my edge. That’s my push. I do it for others that can’t do it.

“I know there are always going to be obstacles in life. What are you going to do? Are you going to fold when they come or are you going to surpass them, jump over them? That’s how I approach it because I know I overcame life in actually being here and pursuing my dreams, so when it comes to football, I know that anything that comes my way, I can handle.”

Hooks finds another source of motivation from his family and specifically his mother, Karen Mingo, who works as a pediatric nurse in Orlando where he grew up. He was the only boy on his mom’s side and was raised by all females.

“I lost my grandma and my great grandma, so I have to do it for my mom,” Hooks said. “I think that’s why I have such a big heart. I get it from her.”

While his love for people and for kids comes from his mother, Hooks credits his drive and his blue-collar mentality to his uncle, Hall of Fame running back Edgerrin James.

James played 11 seasons in the NFL and currently ranks 13th on the all-time rushing list with 12,246 career yards. He was a four-time Pro Bowler, the Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1999 and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the class of 2020. He knows what it takes to be great, and he’s tried to impart that wisdom onto Hooks and help him achieve his own dream of playing in the NFL.

“I’ve got cousins that play basketball, cousins that play football, and he told us if this is what we want to do, we have to love it every day,” Hooks said. “We have to do it when we don’t want to do it. Just going out, the hot summers, every day – we used to wake up at 6 a.m. and be back in the house at 6 p.m. We were out there all day just working on our craft. It was just the foundation of hard work.”

For Hooks, those 12-hour days began as early as 2007 when he was still in elementary school. Now, 16 years later, he’s at Auburn where he’s one step closer to his dream.

When Hooks entered the transfer portal after last season, James initially wanted him to transfer to Cincinnati, where his son is committed to play basketball. But then the opportunity to play in the SEC arose, and James knew Hooks had to take it.

“Once I got SEC offers, he was like, ‘If you want to be the best, you’ve got to go play against the best, and it’s going to show,’” Hooks said. “I want to go first round, so I know coming to the SEC will get me there.”

Hooks had multiple SEC offers after a breakout season at Jackson State last year. Why Auburn?

“Why not Auburn?” he asked.

“It was mainly Coach (Hugh) Freeze,” Hooks added. “Him being so genuine. He’s a player’s coach. I just wanted to play for him. And he told me that if I come here and do what I’m supposed to do, the story is already written.”

Hooks arrived on campus in June. He’s been working hard to learn the offense and put himself in a position to make an immediate impact when Auburn opens the season Sept. 2 against UMass for Kickoff on the Plains. He’s been blown away by the people in Auburn and the “family vibe” and can’t wait to run out of the tunnel the first time at Jordan-Hare.

“It’s going to be a surreal feeling,” he said.

As a graduate transfer with a bachelor’s degree in communication and sports media, Hooks has just one year to play at Auburn. And then, if all goes according to plan, it’s on to the NFL. Once football is over, he wants to stay in sports and be in front of a camera in some type of capacity.

“I'm an entertainer,” Hooks said.

Fitting for the man they call “Hollywood.” If Saturday’s performance was any indicator, Hooks will be entertaining Auburn fans quite a bit this season.

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