small bit on Stephen Hopkins
I don't love aa.com, but sometimes they have interesting stuff.
http://www.annarbor.com/sports/running-back-stephen-hopkins-a-fit-at-mi…
I wonder who tried to snake him from us. I would love to see this kid end up like Brandon Minor (sans injuries).
And the douchebag reply at the end is really annoying.
January 4th, 2010 at 4:26 PM ^
and you can be 99% certain that other big ten coach is tim brewster.
January 4th, 2010 at 4:33 PM ^
Not doubting you--just wondering what the basis for this is.
January 4th, 2010 at 5:06 PM ^
no other school from the big ten recruits Texas like he does.
the kid moves real well for 235 lbs. most kids want to put on weight, which is often times more difficult than a kid losing weight (in this case 15 lbs seems like a bit much). i like this guy as a dark horse for immediate playing time given our running back depth and coach rod's use of bigger backs as a change of pace.
January 4th, 2010 at 5:15 PM ^
It goes back to his time as an assistant at UT. He was master recruiter number one, and was primarily responsible for bringing Vince Young to Texas (not a done deal at the time).
January 4th, 2010 at 4:45 PM ^
Wisconsin. They at least have a successful history with backs like him. The Brewster-Texas connection makes sense though.
January 4th, 2010 at 4:31 PM ^
johnny come lately. must have been seconds before mine.
January 4th, 2010 at 4:32 PM ^
He is a big dude
January 4th, 2010 at 4:36 PM ^
Since when did anybody besides us recruit 3-stars?
January 4th, 2010 at 7:27 PM ^
However, look at the average ranking of Minny's 28 recruits. They aren't sitting on many 3+ stars.
January 4th, 2010 at 4:38 PM ^
There is are thunder who is going to be the lightning?
January 4th, 2010 at 5:01 PM ^
Has it become fashionable to use "are" instead of "our"? I'm being serious... I've seen that a lot lately, and it made me wonder if it was a budding colloquialism, or just an increasingly common error.
January 4th, 2010 at 5:08 PM ^
infuriating. Slightly less than "loose" instead of "lose", colloquialism or not.
January 4th, 2010 at 10:27 PM ^
their/they're/there.
The inability of people to understand the use of these words hurts my brains.
January 4th, 2010 at 5:19 PM ^
If it has, I sure the hell missed it. I've counted at least a half dozen recent posts containing are/our.
January 4th, 2010 at 6:28 PM ^
Yours mine ares....Hmmmmmmm....seems, maybe...I think something might be wrong.
What the hell do I no(know).
January 4th, 2010 at 7:55 PM ^
a lot of spelling errors but that one (are/our) just makes me cringe.
January 4th, 2010 at 8:03 PM ^
word
January 5th, 2010 at 9:51 AM ^
I've seen it so much recently that I seriously started wondering if it was a real thing that people were starting to use. Wouldn't make me cringe any less, but I just had to ask.
January 4th, 2010 at 6:35 PM ^
How about Moose and Squirrel?
January 4th, 2010 at 4:44 PM ^
I would have said MSU, as that sounds like a Dantonio-thing to say. But it couldn't be since MSU is too much of a powerhouse program to recruit outside the state of Michigan.
January 4th, 2010 at 4:44 PM ^
He'll be especially dangerous if receivers like Odoms can get some good blocks in on the secondary. Hopkins isn't a burner, but he ignores arm-tackle attempts and doesn't appear to stop churning his feet. If he gets into space with a block or two, he'll get some big gains.
January 4th, 2010 at 9:10 PM ^
he reminds me more of Marion Barber than Brandon Minor.
thick body, strong, big legs, and will punish you head on. has deceptive straight speed.
January 4th, 2010 at 4:52 PM ^
That Highlight video is pretty encouraging, looks a little slow but has a 4.6 forty on Scout.com. Hope he can get ready this spring to make an impact in the fall. http://recruiting.scout.com/a.z?s=73&p=8&c=1&nid=3215807
January 4th, 2010 at 4:57 PM ^
Sounds like a great kid with a good head on his shoulders. Good to hear that he plans to take his academics seriously as well.
January 4th, 2010 at 5:16 PM ^
With what he's done this year against that level of competition it's amazing he's not rated higher
January 4th, 2010 at 5:19 PM ^
...Hopkins was cleared by M several weeks ago to enroll early.
http://michigan.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=338&mid=129977538&sid=883&ti…
(Go steal some other recruit!)
January 4th, 2010 at 5:19 PM ^
Hopkins is a beast, and needs a nickname to reflect said beast-ness. Anybody got any good suggestions?
January 4th, 2010 at 5:30 PM ^
Stephen "floats like a butterfly, stings like an in his prime Bernard" Hopkins
perhaps a bit verbose.
EDIT: just looked up bernard hopkins on excite.com and turns out his nickname was 'The Executioner'. Perhaps Stephen becomes automatic from 10 yards in and can earn the Executioner moniker.
January 4th, 2010 at 5:24 PM ^
Brandon Graham?
January 4th, 2010 at 5:32 PM ^
What about hop-along Kinda like hop-along cassidya
January 5th, 2010 at 10:23 AM ^
but I think we have to name him Lightnin'.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightnin'_Hopkins
January 4th, 2010 at 7:36 PM ^
I'd bet is was Dantonio that tried to snake him,
he'd like to land a back without a record.
I hope he keeps the weight up, if he can keep the
speed, we need at least one bruiser.
January 4th, 2010 at 9:28 PM ^
Thanks I nearly spit Busch all over my laptop.
January 4th, 2010 at 7:55 PM ^
I read a while ago that there is a good chance he will switch to ILB. Is this still the case?
January 4th, 2010 at 9:07 PM ^
I seriously doubt that. He played linebacker in high school, but that's all I have heard. That would leave just Mike Cox as the big back.
He also is saying how he could be like Minor.
I know there have been rumors that Cam Gordon has moved to linebacker.
January 5th, 2010 at 9:37 AM ^
I'm not saying you're wrong about him staying at RB, but it was discussed on the board a while ago that he was going to make the switch.
Also, if you consider Minor to be a "big back" type, than Shaw would fit that role as well as Cox. Shaw is basically the same size as Minor but has more speed. I would love to see him start playing more like Minor though.
January 4th, 2010 at 9:23 PM ^
You only snake oil players with the SNAKE OIL in shout out style all caps. Fools deserve not to get players for being so stupid.
January 5th, 2010 at 7:15 AM ^
I had a chance to talk to Stephen and his dad after the spring game and he is a good kid. He was very suprised and humbled that alot of people already knew who he was, I said "welcome to Michigan kid", you are already well known here.