NEW PALESTINE — Thee years ago, an undersized freshman joined the New Palestine football program. He was ready to put in the necessary work to get to where he needed and wanted to be.
Maxen Hook was, according to Dragons coach Kyle Ralph, about 5-foot-10 and maybe 125 pounds back in 2016. He was not the same ballhawk that helped the Dragons earn a Class 5A state championship in 2018.
Dedication, desire, determination and drive pushed Hook to where he is today. The hard work paid off in the biggest way on June 9, when the New Palestine standout committed to Toledo, marking the first Division 1 commitment in Ralph’s tenure at the school.
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“I’m really proud of him. Maxen is a great example of I think what our program and the weight room can do for you if you buy into it,” Ralph said. “You’ve got to obviously have a lot of talent, and Maxen is a very talented young man. But when he came in here, he was not what you see on a Friday night.”
Hook had been garnering attention after stellar sophomore and junior seasons, but his recruitment took off in the spring, after he’d bulked back up following basketball season.
He ended up with double-digit offers from all sorts of schools, including Ball State, Air Force, Central Michigan, Bowling Green and Navy, to name just a few.
Toledo was the right fit, though. They stood out among the many.
“I really like their coaching staff. They’re one of the best MAC schools, winning-wise,” Hook said. “I really like my position coach there and I got a good feel for their players. I really liked them, too. It was a good fit for me overall.”
He didn’t know right away that Toledo would be where he would end up. He first visited on Feb. 25. It took a few more trips to make up his mind as the offers poured in.
“I was really excited to commit there. Once I visited my third time, I knew,” he said. “It was definitely them. I just really wanted to start focusing on our team and our season this year.”
Toledo, too, took a few visits to make up their minds. When they first saw Hook, they were impressed by his tape but he was small for a strong safety, which is where they envisioned him playing. He was in the middle of basketball season, weighing about 170 or 175 pounds at the time, about 30 to 40 pounds lighter than a prototypical college strong safety.
The Rockets actually offered Hook’s teammate and friend, Kyle King, on the spot during their first visit. They didn’t make an offer to Hook.
Once basketball season ended, things changed. Hook added about 15 pounds of muscle, helping the Rockets make up their mind quickly. Ralph estimates it took Toledo “about five minutes of him being on campus” before they made him an offer on April 6.
“I think what I’m proudest of, with both those boys, Kyle and Maxen, neither one of them showed up here as kind of that turnkey Division 1 prospect where when they walk in the door, you’re like all right, we’ve got one here, this doesn’t even require a lot of effort,” Ralph said. “Maxen went from say a 130-pound freshman, he started for us his sophomore year and he was like 5-foot-11 and weighed 155 pounds and made all-state just because he was a talented kid. Kept working in the weight room, then last year he’s 6-foot-1, 175, he put 20 more pounds on and made all-state again.”
Now, Ralph said Hook is “6-1 and some change” and weighs around 195. He’s claimed the power clean record in his weight division at New Palestine, too, another sign of his work ethic.
“He’s developed that. That’s something that he’s had to work for. He’s had to change his body. That comes with a good diet and constant training,” Ralph said. “Seeing him get rewarded for all that — being a Division 1 recruit is very uncommon — to see a kid come in from where he was and completely commit himself to the process, and then be rewarded with a full-ride scholarship is just great.
“As a head coach and a strength coach, that’s something I’m really proud of. That’s a kid who bought in, he never asked questions, he did what he was told to do, he worked relentlessly every day at it, and he got the reward that he had worked for.”
Hook is excited to join a Toledo team that has been to five straight bowl games and is just two years removed from winning the Mid-American Conference two years ago.
He’s also excited to have the entire recruiting experience over with in time to focus on his final year at New Palestine.
“It gets crazy at a certain point. There’s periods where they can come in to the school and pull us out of classes — we’re getting pulled out of classes five, six times a day to talk to coaches you’ve never even talked to before,” Hook said. “It was wild at certain points. It’s crazy to have that opportunity. A year ago, I never would have thought this was even a possibility.”
That was before Hook racked up 126 tackles, five sacks, three interceptions and three forced fumbles, earning himself co-Defensive Player of the Year in Hancock County while also earning All-Hoosier Heritage Conference and all-state honors.
Now, as a Division 1 commit, he knows other teams will be ready for him. He’s hoping to win a second straight state championship with the Dragons before trading in his high school jersey for a college one.
He’s more than ready to step up to the challenge and keep putting in the work.
“Definitely, there’s going to be kids coming out for me, Charlie (Spegal) and Kyle, just because we’re all getting recruited by Division 1 schools. Everyone’s going to be coming for our heads,” Hook said. “We’ve got to take our games to the next level if we want to continue to be successful. I think it’s awesome to get my commitment over with, because now I can just focus on my team and winning some games.”
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Next week, the Daily Reporter takes a look at three more Division 1 commits and another who is actively being recruited. We’ll also feature a list of all the recent graduates and where they are playing at the next level in Saturday’s edition.
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