After two surgeries, Malik Hooker didn’t get a chance to compete at the NFL Scouting Combine or at Ohio State’s pro day.

Still, the former Buckeye safety figures to hear his name called early in the first round on draft night April 27. For that reason, he was invited to Philadelphia to take in the draft experience and walk on stage after being selected.

Hooker will be in Pennsylvania on draft night, but he’ll be back in his hometown of New Castle.

“Sadly, I won’t be attending,” Hooker said on PFT Live. “I’m gonna be staying at home and watching the draft with my family and the people that were around me before I turned into the player that I am today.”

Hooker isn’t the first top draft prospect to turn down the draft invitation. Two years ago, neither Jameis Winston nor Marcus Mariota attended the NFL draft in Chicago. They also elected to watch the draft with family and friends.

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Hooker won’t get the same draft experience that the five Buckeye first-rounders got in 2016, but he’ll still be able to celebrate the crowning achievement of his football career.

“It was a very hard decision,” Hooker said. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a lot of people. Not too many guys get invited and have this opportunity to go there and walk across the stage as one of the top players in the draft or even go through the process throughout the week. You do a lot of fun events with the top players in the draft. It’s definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

As for when Hooker can get back on the football field, he told PFT Live that he thinks he can be ready by June or July.

Mel Kiper Jr. had Hooker going No. 7 overall to the Los Angeles Chargers in his Mock Draft 3.0.