Westlake Standout Lineman Hopkins Signs With UConn
Same colors. Different team.
Putting pen to paper, Westlake offensive lineman Tommy Hopkins traded in his high school colors of blue and white for the University of Connecticut’s blue and white last Wednesday afternoon during National Signing Day, in which the top recruits across the country officially commit to their collegiate football team.
While Hopkins, a 6-foot-6, a 300-pound lineman, didn’t make his announcement on ESPN or have the intense media scrutiny of some other highly touted recruits, the Westlake senior was honored by Westlake High School in a nearly hour-long ceremony at the school’s library.
Hopkins had been verbally committed to UConn for a quite a while. On Wednesday it was made official as Hopkins signed on the dotted line to the joy of his family, teammates, coaches and administrators.
“I really liked everything about it,” Hopkins said about choosing UConn. “It’s close. It’s only two hours away (from home.) The coaches, the facilities, but you know I just got this feeling when I went there that it was the right place for me.”
Though the Wildcats as a team had trouble finding success on the field last season, Hopkins received personal recognition. The team captain was named to New York State’s Class B first team and The Journal News Super 11 team and was ranked the top offensive lineman in all of New York high school football, according to Rivals.com.
Westlake’s head coach Rich Hennessey said watching Hopkins sign his letter of intent is among the proudest moments of his coaching career.
“It’s one of the top,” Hennessy said. “To be able to get a kid to go off to the school he wanted and to accomplish what he has, it’s amazing. It’s just absolutely amazing.”
Hennessey said that college football programs began approaching him in droves once Hopkins finished his sophomore year of varsity football for the Wildcats. About 30 programs, ranging from Division 1 to Division 3 schools, expressed interest in Hopkins. Besides UConn, Hopkins was courted by Syracuse, Temple and Penn State. Hopkins’ father, Kevin, said the family visited about a dozen schools.
However, UConn continued to be the frontrunner throughout the busy process. Kevin Hopkins said a coaching staff that appeared to have genuine individuals, top-notch football facilities, a strong academic school and a great college campus all contributed to his son’s desire to become a Husky.
Once UConn offered last April, Hopkins verbally committed almost instantly.
“Before he even had his offer we knew that’s where he wanted to go,” Kevin Hopkins said. “So when they offered, that was it.”
UConn, a Big East Conference team, went 5-7 last year and 2-5 in the conference. The only other Westchester County product on the team is sophomore walk-on wide receiver John Bogue. Six players on the current roster are from New York State along with three incoming recruits.
During last week’s ceremony for Hopkins, speakers remarked about his character on and off the field. When Hopkins finally reached the podium, he talked about how he always admired the Westlake players that he watched growing up and relished the opportunity to be one when he reached high school.
While his football career as a Wildcat is finished, he made it a point to let everyone in attendance know he’ll always hold a special place for Westlake.
“I will always be a Wildcat,” Hopkins said.
