Hoover, a first-year undrafted player, beat a lot of odds to even make the roster. He chose Carolina, and his work ethic managed to impress Coach George Seifert. That's coach talk for slow. By NFL standards Hoover is something of a throwback. So the staff at Carolina likes him, he makes the team and starts the season at fourth string and as a regular member of the kickoff and return teams.
Special teams are an integral part of our team.
We have good units and a good coach, and we take great pride in them. Just playing special teams had perhaps exceeded his expectations. This is a guy who said he was keeping all options open as he went into camp, perhaps eyeing Canada or Europe if the NFL dream didn't pan out. But strange things happen in pro sports. The rookie starts, and in his second game breaks the century mark, scores, and catches 4 passes.