By Will Vandervort.
So far during his time at Clemson, wide receiver Germone Hopper has had a very up-and-down career.
Rated as the No. 13 wide receiver coming out of high school and the 81st overall by ESPN, the Charlotte native was redshirted in 2012 just because there were too many other good athletes—DeAndre Hopkins and Sammy Watkins to name two—already playing wide receiver.
Hopper had a good first camp that year. He showed off his skills and his explosiveness, but it was in his best interest for the Clemson coaches not to burn his redshirt by putting him on the field for just a play or two.
Last fall, Hopper came back poised and ready to play. He again had another solid camp and was penciled in as the backup to Watkins. His first opportunity to play came against S.C. State in Week 2 and he shined.
The 6-foot, 180-pound receiver showed off his skills as he hauled in six passes for 66 yards, while scoring two touchdowns. The next week at NC State, he had four receptions for 25 yards and then followed that with two catches against Wake Forest and four against Syracuse.
It seemed like Hopper was on his way to being a solid contributor for the Tigers, but as fast as he made himself known to Clemson fans, he quickly disappeared. After catching 16 passes in that four-game stretch, he had just seven catches the final eight games of the season.
“GHop is obviously a very talented player and he has shown some bright spots since he has been here. I think the biggest thing for him is consistency in everything he does,” Clemson wide receivers coach Jeff Scott said.
That’s where Hopper struggled. His playing time decreased because he was not showing discipline in the classroom, off the field or in the meeting rooms at the WestZone. Finally, head coach Dabo Swinney had seen enough and decided to take away the one thing Hopper loved the most – playing football.
Swinney suspended Hopper half through spring practice because his young receiver was not making the most of his opportunity at Clemson.
“Coach Swinney does a great job in the culture we have at Clemson. There are very high standards and accountability,” Scott said. “Before we put a lot of trust in a player and put that young man on the field, we have to be able to trust him completely and know he is a disciplined player and know that he is going to do everything we have asked him to do off the field and on the field.”
When Hopper was suspended, he was suspended from all team activities at the WestZone. He instead had to spend his time in the academic facility because Swinney wanted him to take his academics more serious. Anytime the team had a meeting in the football facility he was required to be at the academic facility.
How did Hopper do? His suspension was lifted this summer and he will be on the practice fields when the Tigers begin training camp on Friday. He comes into camp listed at the No. 2 guy behind Charone Peake, who will miss the first week of practice after minor knee surgery last Wednesday.
“I really think Germone having to sit out the spring is a major point of his career at Clemson, very similar to Martavis Bryant being held out of the Chick-fil-A Bowl,” Scott said. “Martavis had to make a decision after that point and he came back and decided he was going to do it the Clemson way and had the best twelve months he had in his Clemson career on and off the field.
“I feel Germone will do the same thing. He has had his wake up call and knows he is not going to have many more opportunities if he doesn’t want to do the right thing. But everything I have heard this summer has been very positive so if we see him out there on that field in September, it means he has decided to do it the right way.”