Stephen Hopkins
Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2009 2:58 pm
Been doing some research on some kids in the Texas area and I've found my big back target I would love to see the Ducks land for the 2010 class. Stephen Hopkins. 6' 220 and he runs a 4.6 forty yard dash. Plays in the 5A level of Texas football in the Dallas Fortworth Area which is considered to be one of the top areas in one of the best states for HS football.
Now, I've done an article on Hopkins awhile back and I've kept in touch with him every now and then to keep tabs. Ducks need to quickly jump on board or else IMO we could be missing out on a huge back in a few years.
His Sophomore season he was considered a running back that only could excel inside the tackles and thus had to develop a power back style of running where he'd take on lots of contact and thus also had to make sure he could hold onto the ball. His Sophomore year he ran for 1,663 yards on 343 carries for 16 touchdowns. He got a lot of carries and his average was around 5 yards. What makes the stat impressive however is the fact that his team had zero passing ability. Team's noticed how good he was and would load 8 or 9 guys in the box to stop him and he still ran for over 1600 yards as a one man team.
The summer before his Junior year he saw a major change in his body as he packed on lots of weight but his speed and more importantly break away speed started dropping tenths and once games came around he added the ability to go outside the tackles and turn the corner and be gone. He has developed into a very patient runner that will wait for the hole to develop and then explodes. This past season he ran for almost the exact same amount of yards but also had 70 less carries and he did it on an body that was hurt all season yet he still dominated.
Almost all the major Texas schools have filled up at RB and he's still left on the board.
Will we get on the train and give him more interest?
Now, I've done an article on Hopkins awhile back and I've kept in touch with him every now and then to keep tabs. Ducks need to quickly jump on board or else IMO we could be missing out on a huge back in a few years.
His Sophomore season he was considered a running back that only could excel inside the tackles and thus had to develop a power back style of running where he'd take on lots of contact and thus also had to make sure he could hold onto the ball. His Sophomore year he ran for 1,663 yards on 343 carries for 16 touchdowns. He got a lot of carries and his average was around 5 yards. What makes the stat impressive however is the fact that his team had zero passing ability. Team's noticed how good he was and would load 8 or 9 guys in the box to stop him and he still ran for over 1600 yards as a one man team.
The summer before his Junior year he saw a major change in his body as he packed on lots of weight but his speed and more importantly break away speed started dropping tenths and once games came around he added the ability to go outside the tackles and turn the corner and be gone. He has developed into a very patient runner that will wait for the hole to develop and then explodes. This past season he ran for almost the exact same amount of yards but also had 70 less carries and he did it on an body that was hurt all season yet he still dominated.
Almost all the major Texas schools have filled up at RB and he's still left on the board.
Will we get on the train and give him more interest?