{"id":3731172,"date":"2026-02-07T05:45:36","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T13:45:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.montereyherald.com\/?p=3731172&preview=true&preview_id=3731172"},"modified":"2026-02-07T05:45:43","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T13:45:43","slug":"austin-hooper-patriots-de-la-salle-stanford-super-bowl-60","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montereyherald.com\/2026\/02\/07\/austin-hooper-patriots-de-la-salle-stanford-super-bowl-60\/","title":{"rendered":"Patriots\u2019 Austin Hooper, Bay Area native, is \u2018smelling the roses\u2019 in Super Bowl homecoming"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s not like coming back home is anything novel for Austin Hooper, who still visits De La Salle\u2019s campus in the summer to train with his high school alma mater after 10 years in the NFL. And this isn\u2019t his first Super Bowl<\/a>, either.<\/p>\n

But both? At the same time?<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what makes this one that much more special,\u201d the New England Patriots tight end told the Bay Area News Group this week.<\/p>\n

A decade after his first Super Bowl ended in heartbreak, as a rookie on the Falcons team<\/a> that infamously let a 28-3 lead slip away, the San Mateo native, now 31, said this time he is \u201cdefinitely smelling the roses more. \u2026 I don\u2019t know how many years I\u2019ve got left.\u201d<\/p>\n

Come Sunday, Hooper will be the only player on either side of New England\u2019s Super Bowl 60 matchup against the Seahawks to take the field at Levi\u2019s Stadium in front of his hometown fans.<\/p>\n

A fortunate 15 family members will be in attendance. Everyone else, including his coach at De La Salle, Bob Ladouceur, will be tuning in from home. Or, in Lad\u2019s case, \u201con my huge TV,\u201d the happily retired coaching legend chuckled, recounting his four years with a teenage Hooper, which were also his last on the sidelines.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m real proud \u2026 it\u2019s really kind of cool,\u201d Ladouceur said. \u201cHe learned how to be a football player at De La Salle.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Hooper arrived on the Catholic school\u2019s Concord campus in 2008, Ladouceur estimated he tipped the scales at 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds. Now, Hooper is listed at 6-foot-4, 254 pounds.<\/p>\n

The physical maturation is evident as ever each summer when Hooper\u2019s NFL-sized frame is contrasted against De La Salle\u2019s current group of high school athletes. For a couple weeks every offseason, Hooper still takes part in the Spartans\u2019 conditioning program, current coach Justin Alumbaugh said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd he has words for kids, too,\u201d when he outraces their fastest players, Alumbaugh said. \u201cWhich I appreciate. \u2026 I mean, come on, to come back and run gassers, tires and track with his former high school team, out of the kindness of his heart, I\u2019m not making it up. It\u2019s real.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"De
De La Salle’s Austin Hooper (18) sacks Folsom quarterback Jake Browning (12) in the first quarter of their Northern California Open Division regional game at Hornet Stadium at California State University in Sacramento, Calif. on Saturday, Dec. 8, 2012. (Jose Carlos Fajardo\/Staff)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Informed of Alumbaugh\u2019s tales of his superiority in the conditioning drills, Hooper smiled modestly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m supposed to beat kids that are 17 years old,\u201d he said. \u201cBut yeah, I go back and train and push myself, just go about it my own way. If the young guys want to work with me, cool. If you want to keep up with me, go for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Alumbaugh, Hooper has been even more hands-on than he lets on. He will participate in their 7-on-7 drills on the scout team and lend his positional expertise to all of De La Salle\u2019s tight ends, most recently Landon Cook, who signed with Oregon State.<\/p>\n

\u201cShowing our tight ends how to create space, things like that,\u201d Alumbaugh said. \u201cI\u2019m like, \u2018Guys, I don\u2019t think you know what\u2019s happening right now.\u2019 \u2026 It\u2019s pretty incredible to see somebody of his stature give back in the way that he does.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Hooper’s football mortality may be on his mind, a decade-long career as a tight end, with two Pro Bowl nods, wasn\u2019t exactly an outcome Alumbaugh envisioned when he met him at 15 years old.<\/p>\n

A blue-chip prospect who eventually chose Stanford, where the Patriots happen to be practicing this week, it was a \u201ccoin flip\u201d whether Hooper would pursue the offensive or defensive side of the ball, Alumbaugh told recruiters back then.<\/p>\n

After all, Ladouceur and Alumbaugh agreed that Hooper\u2019s most memorable game with the Spartans came as a defensive end, in their 2012 state championship game against Centennial.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe did a lot of damage when he was on our defense,\u201d Ladouceur said. \u201cHe was quick off the ball, he was strong and no running backs could block him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Stanford
Stanford Cardinal’s Austin Hooper (84) makes a catch in front of Maryland Terrapins’ Sean Davis (21) in the third quarter for the Foster Farms Bowl at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2014. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

De La Salle\u2019s two-way players would typically take some snaps off on one side of the ball, but Ladouceur said, \u201cI didn\u2019t want him coming off the field.\u201d<\/p>\n

On offense, in De La Salle\u2019s run-heavy veer system, Hooper played a \u201ccritical\u201d role, Ladouceur said, setting blocks for their ground game but also keeping defenses on their toes with play-action passes.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo he did a lot of blocking,\u201d Ladouceur said. \u201cBut he did a lot of route-running, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

In other words, setting the foundations for a career as an NFL tight end.<\/p>\n

Plenty of De La Salle alumni populate the professional ranks, and the program\u2019s blood typically runs deep, but with Hooper, Alumbaugh said, \u201cthat\u2019s a very dark blood right there, that\u2019s very deep.\u201d<\/p>\n