The genetics and pedigree helps quite a bit, but there is something else that has stuck out to Margin Hooks as he’s trained the sons of former NFL stars, Larry Fitzgerald and Jermichael Finley.
“One thing I've noticed with the dads, there is no pressure on those guys,” says Hooks, a highly-respected wide receiver trainer in the state of Texas. “It's not the pressure of, 'Okay, my dad did it, so I have to do it.' It's crazy because they went and got trainers. They went and got guys to work with them. They didn't go out there and say, 'Do this.'”
Both **Devin Fitzgerald**, of Arizona, and Texas’ **Kaydon Finley** (pictured above) announced their commitments to Notre Dame over the weekend.
“With Kaydon, I remember his dad said, 'Hook, he's yours. I don't want to say nothing,’” Hooks recalls. “They want to keep that father-son bond. And when you become coach-trainer, it's different.
“‘I'm going to say the same thing as you guys are going to preach because you've seen all the guys in my path that I've worked with and developed.’ It's easier to just check back with the dads, 'Here's the footage that we’re working on, we're talking about. Just reiterate this because we got to work on.' I think it helps their mental state more than anything.”
Hooks is convinced both Finley and Fitzgerald will be great fits in South Bend.
“Just their demeanor, the type of young men they are,” he says. “I think the environment that Notre Dame has - and I'm not knocking on any other environment - but I think the environment fits them.”
Irish Sports Daily
New Irish WR commit Devin Fitzgerald
He’s also convinced Notre Dame will benefit from both.
“They need some big-time receivers who can play,” he says. “They need some splash guys. That's one thing I've seen, the big plays at Notre Dame, they haven't been there.”
Of course, Hooks also understands both need to continue improving in order to become the guys who can make those splash plays.
With Finley, Hooks thinks it’ll come as he adjusts to the college game.
“Just playing faster, but that comes when you adapt to where you're at,” he says. “He's playing on a high school level, so yeah, he's very dominant.
“But I believe once he gets to college and sees the speed and adapts to it, I think he's going to do well.”
Hooks says both have immense natural ability.
“Some things are just genetics,” he says. “I played receiver and my dad played receiver. I think catching a football is one of the hardest thing to do because you don't have a glove. It's not round like a basketball and it's coming at a high rate of speed the way it's thrown and you have to catch with your fingertips. There are a lot of things that go into it; people grabbing on you and pulling on you when you're doing it.
“Both of them. Devin’s hands are big. Kaydon Finley's hands are big. His dad's hands are big, he's a big dude. So I think a lot of it helps with the genetics, the gene pool for both of them.”
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