By Will Vandervort.
By Will Vandervort
DeAndre Hopkins grew up wanting to do what every little boy wants to do, play professional sports.
On Thursday night, the small town kid from Central, SC had his dream come true, but it wasn’t the sport he thought it was going to be.
“I thought I was going to be an NBA star one day,” Hopkins said.
Instead, the former Clemson wide receiver will have to settle for being an NFL star after being selected No. 27 overall by the Houston Texans in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft.
“The more you watched him, you see he is very competitive,” Houston offensive coordinator Rick Dennison said. “He catches the ball in the crowd. It doesn’t matter to him.”
It’s amazing to think Hopkins almost never played football past the eighth grade. At nearby Daniel High School, he was expected to be the Lions’ starting quarterback his freshman year, but after participating in a Nike Basketball camp, he thought he needed to focus more on his basketball skills.
Hopkins sat out the entire 2006 football season at Daniel, while leading the Lions to the state playoffs in basketball. That spring football coach Randy Robinson greeted Hopkins every day in hopes of getting him to come out for footall, again. Eventually, it worked.
In his first varsity game against Greer, Hopkins intercepted the first pass thrown his way and returned it 72 yards for a touchdown. After that, it was obvious to everyone what his path was going to be. The 6-foot-1, 214-pound wide receiver went on to have an outstanding career at Daniel High School. He intercepted 13 passes that first season to earn All-State honors as a sophomore and finished his career with 28 overall.
Hopkins did not become a receiver until his junior season and finished his high school career with 57 receptions for 1,266 yards and 18 touchdowns. Down the road, Clemson wasted no time convincing the local star to become a Tiger as he accepted an offer and committed to Clemson after his junior season.
At Clemson, Hopkins set numerous school and ACC records, including touchdowns in a season (18) and consecutive games with at least one touchdown catch (10).
“I’m always trying to get the ball at its highest point,” Hopkins said. “I’m a unique player. I have something different to bring.”
At Clemson, Hopkins’ game brought a school record 82 catches for 1,405 yards to go along with his 18 touchdowns in 2012, earning All-ACC and All-American honors along the way.
“There is no doubt in my mind Nuk Hopkins is a first-round pick,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said. “In my opinion, he is the best wide receiver in the draft.”
The Houston Texans thought so. Though stories surfaced last week that Hopkins and former Rutgers wide receiver Mark Harrison trashed their hotel room after the NFL Combine in February, Houston thought nothing of it when they picked Hopkins because they looked into it and, as they told the Houston media, there was “enough to know it was not an issue.”
“They knew I did not have anything to do with it,” Hopkins said.
Instead, the Texans were worried someone else was going to pick Clemson’s all-time leading receiver before they got their chance. Dennison said he was holding his breath with each pick.
Despite this year’s great wide receiver class, Dennison said Hopkins was the one they preferred to have all along.
“He’s fast enough to win. If it’s a contested ball, we feel like he’s gonna come down with it,” Dennison said.
The Texans like Hopkins because he can be a nice compliment to All-Pro wideout Andre Johnson.
“It’s gonna be an honor to play with Andre Johnson,” Hopkins said. “We have the same mentality, when the ball is in the air, it’s ours.”
The Texans, who won their division for a second straight season last year, hope Hopkins can be the guy to help them get to the next level and play for a Super Bowl.
“It’s my main goal, to win championships,” Hopkins said.
The Texans are just glad he changed his mind and decided to be a football player instead of a basketball player all those years ago.
Notes on DeAndre Hopkins Drafted Tonight in First Round by Houston Texans
* Hopkins is the 23rd first-round selection in Clemson history, the first since C.J. Spiller was the ninth pick of the NFL Draft in 2010.
* Hopkins is the first Clemson wide receiver to be selected in the first round since Rod Gardner was the number 15 selection of the Washington Redskins in 2001.
* Hopkins will be coached by Texans wide receivers coach Larry Kirksey, who was on the University of Alabama coaching staff when Dabo Swinney was a player, and then a graduate assistant coach with the Crimson Tide (1990-93).
* Hopkins is the first Clemson player to leave the school after his junior year and become a first round pick since Anthony Simmons was the 15th pick of the first round in the 1998 draft. Trevor Pryce (1997) and Chester McGlockton (1992) are the other two Clemson juniors to come out early and be a first round selection.
* Hopkins is the first Clemson player to be drafted by the Houston Texans in history. Only two former Clemson players have played for the Texans, Dexter McCleon on 2006 and Thomas Austin in 2011.
* Hopkins selection means Clemson has had at least one player taken in the NFL draft for 11 consecutive years. The Tigers have had at least one offensive player taken in the draft 10 straight years.
* Hopkins is the fifth Clemson wide receiver drafted by the NFL in the last 10 years. All five have been coached by Dabo Swinney as either an assistant coach or head coach. The others are Derrick Hamilton (2004), Airese Currie (2005), Chansi Stuckey (2007) and Jacoby Ford (2010).
*Based on history Hopkins is in good position to make the Texans as a rookie. Each of the last 47 Clemson players drafted within the first 70 picks went on to play in the NFL. The streak goes back to 1963.
* Hopkins is the first Clemson player taken with the 27th pick of the draft since 1951 when Fred Cone was the 27th pick (in the third round) by the Green Bay Packers.
* Hopkins is the 10th ACC wide receiver drafted in the first or second round since 2006.
*With the selection of Hopkins and four others, the ACC has now had at least one first round draft choice in each of the last 25 years.
*At 20 years, 10 months and 13 days, Hopkins is the youngest first-round draft choice in Clemson history. The previous youngest was linebacker Anthony Simmons, who was drafted on April 18, 1998 at the age of 21 years, 9 months and 29 days.