Freshman Ryder Hooks Is Becoming Eastern Kentucky's Most Dangerous Big-Play Threat

Ryder Hooks has a habit of showing up exactly where Eastern Kentucky needs a jolt. Sometimes it is a kickoff return that flips field position. Sometimes it is a punt return that turns a stalled half into a scoring chance. And on Oct. 17 in Cookeville, it was the freshman running back gashing a 6-1 Tennessee Tech defense for 166 yards on 10 carries.

Eight games into his college career, the Eastern Kentucky newcomer from Lakota East High School in Ohio has 755 all-purpose yards and a role that keeps growing. He is not the Colonels' feature back yet. He is already one of the most dangerous players on the field whenever the ball is in his hands.

From Lakota East record book to Richmond

Hooks arrived at EKU with a high school résumé that reads like a highlight reel. As a senior in 2025, he ran for 2,032 yards on 220 carries, an average of 9.2 yards per carry and 169.3 yards per game, with 19 rushing touchdowns, according to his EKU roster bio (opens in a new tab). He added 25 catches for 400 yards and three more scores as Lakota East went 8-4.

Tri-State Football reported that Hooks finished as the Thunderhawks' all-time leading rusher with 4,383 career yards, including a 321-yard night against Colerain. WCPO reported a 286-yard, three-touchdown season opener at Centerville and a 290-yard, four-touchdown finale against Lakota West.

The honors matched the numbers. Hooks was a finalist for Ohio Mr. Football, the Division I co-Offensive Player of the Year and a first-team All-Ohio pick from the Ohio Prep Sports Media Association, and the Greater Miami Conference Offensive Player of the Year. Tri-State Football also named him its Cincinnati Offensive Player of the Year, the first Lakota East player to win it.

Why EKU won the recruitment

Hooks signed with Eastern Kentucky on Dec. 3, 2025, the first day of the college football signing period. WCPO reported that he also held offers from Miami (Ohio), Toledo, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Rhode Island, Tarleton State and Bowling Green.

The Colonels made the decision easy, by his account. "It was like waking up on Christmas morning," Hooks told WCPO. "EKU made me feel like home, like a priority."

His high school coach, Jon Kitna, offered the kind of endorsement that travels well in a locker room. "Every time you're around him you feel like you're getting better," Kitna told WCPO. Hooks' father, Lee, is Lakota East's associate head coach, so football has never been a part-time interest in the household.

Special teams first, then the breakout

EKU lists Hooks at 5-foot-8 and 193 pounds, and the Colonels found a way to use that compact frame right away. He has handled 17 kickoff returns for 346 yards, an average of 20.4 per return, and eight punt returns for 131 yards, an average of 16.4. In a Sept. 12 win over Chattanooga, he returned three kickoffs for 70 yards. Against North Alabama on Oct. 3, he added three punt returns for 37 yards to go with 64 yards on kickoffs.

The rushing breakthrough came at Tennessee Tech. EKU lost that game 49-20, but Hooks was the brightest part of the afternoon for the visitors. He carried 10 times for a career-high 166 yards, averaged 16.6 yards per carry, ripped off a 41-yard run and scored his first college touchdown on an 18-yard run with 7:44 left. With 50 more yards on four kickoff returns, he finished with 216 all-purpose yards, per the EKU box score (opens in a new tab).

That kind of efficiency is hard to ignore. Of his 211 rushing yards this season, 166 came on one Saturday. The question for the coaching staff is no longer whether Hooks can produce. It is how many touches he can handle.

Big plays in the biggest games

Hooks has also been part of EKU's two most important results of the season. In the 16-13 homecoming win over No. 23 West Florida on Oct. 24, he returned four punts for 82 yards, including a 48-yarder, while chipping in five carries and a catch. Undrafted's recap of that game is here.

A week later at No. 1 Tarleton State, he made the play that set up EKU's go-ahead score. Trailing 21-17 in the fourth quarter, the Colonels faced third down when Myles Burkett found Hooks for a 48-yard completion that moved them into Tarleton State territory. Brady Hensley finished the 80-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run to put EKU ahead 24-21 with 3:18 left. Tarleton State answered and won 28-24, as Undrafted's recap detailed, but the snap showed how comfortable Hooks already looks in a high-pressure moment against the top-ranked team in FCS.

The numbers so far

Through eight games, Hooks has 26 carries for 211 yards and a touchdown, an average of 8.1 yards per attempt. He has three catches for 67 yards, an average of 22.3 per reception. Add the kickoff and punt return work and he sits at 755 all-purpose yards, a strong line for a freshman on a team that is 3-6 overall and 2-2 in United Athletic Conference play.

The sample is still small, and that is the point. Hooks has not needed volume to make an impact. His best days have come in bursts: the 41-yard run in Cookeville, the 48-yard punt return against West Florida, the 48-yard catch in Stephenville.

What comes next

Eastern Kentucky has three games left, starting with a trip to Austin Peay on Nov. 7 at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN+. The Colonels then host Central Arkansas on Nov. 14 for Senior Day before closing at Abilene Christian on Nov. 21.

Those three weeks are a chance for EKU to see how Hooks handles a bigger share of the offense alongside Hensley. The Colonels have a returner who already changes field position and a back who has shown he can break a long run against a quality defense.

Closing take

Ryder Hooks came to Richmond as one of the most decorated running backs in Ohio. Two months into his college career, he is proving the production was not a product of high school competition. Every time Eastern Kentucky gives him space, something happens.

The Colonels' season will be judged on the final three games. Their future at running back already looks a lot brighter.

Sources: EKU Athletics roster, box scores and game recaps; WCPO; Tri-State Football. More college football coverage on Undrafted.

Photos: EKU Athletics.