Is this really how I’m going out?”: Daveon Hook’s road back to Rice football

Perhaps the quietest place in Fort Worth, TX on Jan. 2, 2026 was Amon G. Carter Stadium.

For over 10 minutes that afternoon, all noise inside the venue was suppressed to silence. The Armed Forces Bowl between the Rice Owls and Texas State Bobcats that drew over 28,000 spectators suddenly seemed trivial when medical personnel populated the field and a stretcher was wheeled in the direction of Rice strong safety Daveon Hook.

While attempting to make a tackle late in the third quarter, Hook collided with a Texas State blocker and absorbed a devastating blow to the head/neck area. He remained frozen on the ground for over 10 minutes, surrounded by emotional teammates, before he was immobilized on a stretcher and transported out of the stadium. All coaches, teammates, and fans from both teams anxiously awaited for updates.

For Hook, much of the moment remained a blur. It wasn’t until he watched a replay of the hit when he began to recollect some details of a terrifying afternoon at the Armed Forces Bowl.

“It was definitely a scary moment for me, especially taking a hit to the back of the head,” Hook said. “Earlier in that game, I got a pretty bad hit in my head. Thought I was okay so I decided to go back in, but then took a nasty hit. The recovery from that was great. It was really a blessing to be touched by God. It was definitely scary, but I’m very blessed to come out of that basically untouched.”

Hook was transported to a local hospital in Fort Worth where he spent roughly five hours receiving treatment. During that process, concerning thoughts raced through the safety’s head. He wondered if he played his final snap of his football career — and whether his life would ever look the same.

The uncertainty was overwhelming.

“In that moment, I definitely had a second guess, like ‘Is this really how I’m going out?’” Hook said. “I was very scared in the moment. I didn’t think I was gonna survive that just because the blood I was coughing up and stuff. It was definitely eye-opening – the blessings I have and being able to do everything every day. It made me more aware of my surroundings.”

Those worst fears were quelled quite quickly. He was discharged from the hospital in Fort Worth in approximately five hours — right before his roommate, running back Quinton Jackson, stopped by for a visit. Hook’s mother took a detour from her destination so she could drive her son four hours back to Houston that night.

“Seeing my roommate down like that was definitely a tough moment,” Jackson said. “Daveon is a hard worker, and he’s not gonna let that injury or setback hold him down. Daveon, he was in and out of the hospital the same day, and he was ready to go to work.”

Once he returned to Houston, Hook was tasked with making a difficult decision. Was it time to walk away from football?

“It was a lot of praying and a lot of misdirection,” Hook said. “I honestly didn’t know what I wanted to do. I had one more year. I knew that, but after a nasty injury, I was like, ‘Is this really what I want to do with my body?’”

One conversation carried the most weight in the decision-making process. Head coach Scott Abell Abell wasn’t the coach that recruited Hook in 2022, nor was he the coach that promoted him from a walk-on to a scholarship athlete. But it only took one fall together for Abell to gain the full trust of Hook on all topics ranging from football to life.

“Coach Abell, his plan and his faith in me just never really wavered, never changed,” Hook said. “He was the reason I really came back. He was the reason I decided to give it one more go.”

Rice’s defense lost nine starters in a transient offseason, including each of its top seven tacklers. Facing a lack of stability, Abell’s top priority involved retaining Hook, who posted 22 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss in five appearances last fall.

“The most important thing we needed to do was retain Daveon,” Abell said. “He’s the nucleus. When Daveon played last year, we were a different defense, and the stats would tell you that. Keeping him here was really important, and then surrounding him with guys in the back half that we can feed off of and they can feed off him, I think we’ve done that.”

Hook is the definition of a Rice Owl. In an era where most players are defined by multiple schools, the safety prefers to wear concrete cleats that bind him to one university. Now, he is one of the few remnants from the Owls’ final season in Conference USA in 2022. The fifth-year senior won’t let the happenings of Jan. 2 define him or alter his devotion to Rice. Instead, overcoming such an alarming moment has only honed his leadership skills as he prepares to lead a revamped Owl defense this fall.

“He’s such a resilient young man, and you really haven’t seen him miss a beat after he got healthy,” Abell said. “That game is a prime example of what I’m talking about. We’re down 10-7 at halftime, he gets hurt early in the second half, and it’s like our defense lost its identity. We played really good defense in the first half against Texas State. We want to keep him healthy. That’s the key. But I’m really blessed that injury wasn’t more serious than it was. I feel fortunate, like a lot of prayers answered that day. And I’m grateful that he decided he wanted to finish his career here.”

Since Hook committed to returning for his fifth and final season, one date has stood at the forefront of his mind — Saturday, Sept. 5. Exactly 246 days after lying motionless on the Amon G. Carter Stadium grass and wondering if his football days were behind him, he envisions a triumphant run out of the tunnel with the opportunity of authoring his final chapter.

“It’s gonna be very surreal being able to step on the field again,” Hook said. “Last time the fans saw me on the field, I was looking pretty bad and out of shape. But it’s gonna feel great being out there, going to take the next step forward, give them something to look forward to, and that’s what I’m excited for this sea...

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