Austin Hooper returned to Stanford”s locker room Saturday night after a breakout performance against USC and noticed his text messages were blowing up. He had 300 of them — err, make that 30.

It only seemed like 300 for a sophomore who had previously toiled in relative anonymity.

“That”s never happened in my life,”” said Hooper, who averaged 19.8 yards per catch and scored Stanford”s first touchdown in the 41-31 upset. “It was fun to feel like a big factor and affect the situation.””

It”s a role Hooper could fill frequently this season for Tight End U.

The redshirt sophomore is following in the long strides of former Stanford (and current NFL) tight ends Jim Dray, Coby Fleener, Levine Toilolo, Ryan Hewitt and Zach Ertz.

Hooper, who grew up in San Ramon and played for De La Salle High in Concord, is the top-rated tight end in his class due to a combination of skill, athleticism and size (6-foot-4, 248 pounds) that creates matchup problems for most, if not every opponent on the Cardinal”s schedule.

“It”s coming together the way we all thought it would when we saw him as a junior (at De La Salle),”” Stanford coach David Shaw said, “but maybe faster than we anticipated.”

Hooper, who had scholarship offers from numerous Pac-12 schools, sat out his rookie year, then played in every game last season. His best performance might have been the last: Five catches in the Foster Farms Bowl. But because Stanford won handily, Hooper”s impact was limited.

Last week, against the nation”s No. 6 team, he was Stanford”s first option. Matched against smaller USC linebackers, Hooper caught four passes for 79 yards, including a leaping, 24-yard grab between two defenders that set up the Cardinal”s second touchdown — the touchdown that turned the game around.

“Last year, it was like we were beating football into him,”” offensive coordinator Mike Bloomgren said. “Now, he”s more confident with the system and everything is slowing down, and you can see his love for the game.””

Hooper, whose uncle, Greg, played fullback for Stanford three decades ago, is well-versed in Stanford”s tight end lineage and the strengths of each player: Dray”s tenacity, Fleener”s knack for big plays, Hewitt”s versatility and Toilolo”s blocking mechanics.

“I try to take aspects of their game and also bring my individual (skills) to the table,”” Hooper said.

But it”s Ertz, a unanimous first-team All-American in 2012, to whom Hooper is most often compared. Their shared background — Ertz also learned the game in the East Bay (Monte Vista High) — is less relevant to the comparison than the skill sets.

Ertz could line up next to the tackle, in the slot or out wide. He knew how to set up defenders, how to tempo his patterns, use his body for leverage and create separation from the defenders — all nuances of the position that Hooper tries to emulate.

“He”s just like Ertz in that they run unbelievable routes, and they”re so darn big,”” Bloomgren said. “They”re matchup issues (for the defense).”

And like Ertz, Bloomgren added, “Austin just might be his quarterback”s favorite target.””

For more on college sports, see Jon Wilner”s College Hotline at . Contact him at or 408-920-5716.

Friday”s game

Stanford (2-1, 1-0 Pac-12) at Oregon State (2-1, 0-0), 7 p.m. Fox Sports 1