Hooper helping re-establish tight end position at Stanford

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This season was something new for Stanford tight end Austin Hooper. The former De La Salle-Concord star had to acquaint himself with the experience of having fewer points than the opposition.

What are those kinds of games called? Oh, yes. Losses.

The Cardinal are 7-5 going into the Dec. 30 Foster Farms Bowl against Maryland. In four years of high school, Hooper lost twice. One came with his freshman team. In his three years on the varsity, the Spartans lost only to St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in his junior year.

“It was definitely a bit shocking this season, compared to the past,” Hooper said.

While the offense struggled for much of the season, Hooper and fellow redshirt freshmen Eric Cotton and Greg Taboada re-established the tight end position for Stanford after a down year for the position in the passing game. Hooper was the biggest threat of the bunch, catching 35 passes for 428 yards and two touchdowns.

In fact, he led Pac-12 tight ends in receiving in his first year of college ball. Next best was Oregon’s Pharaoh Brown with 25 receptions and 420 yards.

If wide receiver Ty Montgomery can’t play in the bowl game because of a shoulder sprain, Hooper would go into the game as the team’s leading receiver. “That’s a cool statistic,” he said. “It hadn’t occurred to me.”

Head coach David Shaw has been delighted with Hooper’s progress and is eager to see what’s yet to come.

Stanford tight end Austin Hooper, a redshirt freshman, catches a 14-yard touchdown pass in the first overtime of a 20-17 loss against Utah at Stanford Stadium last month. Stanford tight end Austin Hooper, a redshirt freshman, catches a 14-yard touchdown pass in the first overtime of a 20-17 loss against Utah at Stanford Stadium last month. Photo: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images Photo: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Hooper helping re-establish tight end position at Stanford 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

“Austin’s been great,” he said. “He’s learned and progressed, and there’s a ton more that he can do better. There’s a ton more that he has to learn.”

According to Hooper, the playbook started to really come together in his head during spring ball. “That’s when it sort of clicked,” he said. “Then it was further solidified during fall camp when I got even more reps. That’s when it became almost second nature to me, where I didn’t have to think about what I was doing, just going out and playing football.”

Many tight ends beef up when they get into college. Hooper lost 16 pounds from his original 258, although now he’s back up to 248. “This is a good weight for me, heavy enough to block and yet light enough to run fast,” he said. “I just want to take away as much body fat as possible.”

As offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Mike Bloomgren sees it, he was already an effective blocker when arrived. “Hoops went to De La Salle, where all they do for two hours is push a sled and block, so he came in knowing how to do that,” Bloomgren said.

There’s a lot more about blocking to pick up, Hooper said. “I’m getting there. I’m still learning the nuances with the techniques, but I feel I’m getting there. I need to work in the offseason on footwork to put myself in better position to block defenders.”

In the bowl game, which will be played at Levi’s Stadium, the Cardinal won’t lack for motivation, he said.

“For a lot of us at this point, we’re just playing for each other and for pride,” he said. “We want to finish it off the right way.

“The season hasn’t gone like we wanted it to. We just want to get a good game together to send off the seniors the right way and give us a little momentum heading into the offseason. Those are our goals right now.”

Peat honored: Junior Andrus Peat won the Morris Trophy as the most outstanding offensive lineman in the Pac-12. Previous Stanford winners were Willie Howard (1999), Kwame Harris (2002) and David Yankey (2012). Peat also was named a first-team All-American by SI.com and a second-team selection by the Associated Press.

Tom FitzGerald is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: tfitzgerald@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @tomgfitzgerald