Camp Countdown: "Hoppy"
7/30/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Here's a glimpse of Larry Hopkins, All-ACC selection and starting fullback of the 1970 ACC Championship squad, when he was still testing the Deacon waters. Hopkins just finished his first game wearing the Old Gold and Black when Mary Garber produced this feature story to highlight his not-so typical background. For a look at Hopkins' career two years later, click here for his All-American flier produced towards the end of his senior season.
Appearances Deceiving, And So Is WF Fullback
By Mary Garber, Originally published in the Winston-Salem Journal, 9/1970Larry Hopkins of Wake Forest is an unusual young man.
He is first string fullback on the football team. He weighs 190 pounds and can run over or through people. He has given Wake Forest something it sorely lacked last year: good inside running power.
Hopkins is also a student. He went to Lees-McRae on an academic scholarship, but switched to athletic aid after he made the team. He is majoring in chemistry at Wake Forest.
His real name is Lawrence Hopkins III, but no one calls him that. Most people, from Coach Cal Stoll on down, call him "Hoppy."
After transferring from Lees-McRae, he played his first Wake Forest game Saturday against Nebraska and was one of the Deacons' leading gainers with 49 yards rushing.
He was chosen Wake Forest's first offensive player of the week.
Off the field, Hopkins looks small for a college football player. At 5-10, he is not tall, but is stockily built. He is strong and powerful and he is heavier than he looks. Ask him if he really weighs 190 pounds as listed in the program and he will just grin.
His father is a master sergeant in the Air Force and because of this he has moved from place to place. He had one year of high school in North Burlington, N.J. He had another year in Chester, S.C. and he had a third year in Panama City, Fla.
He is living with his grandmother in Chester now while his parents are in England, where his dad is stationed. His parents helped him pick Wake Forest before they went overseas.
"My mother like the school, both my parents did. And it was just what I wanted," said Hopkins. "It was small and I liked the atmosphere. When we went to Nebraska that campus was like a city."
Hopkins was one the leaders in the spring game. He has been one the top ground gainers in the preseason scrimmages. So his good showing Saturday was no surprise.
"Hopkins was the best back in spring practice," said Stoll. "He had a good start at Nebraska. I thought he was the hardest running back on the field. He runs with authority and he gives us good inside attack, which is something we didn't have last year."
Coach Oval Jaynes, who works with the backs, thinks Hopkins could develop into one of the best inside power runners Wake Forest has had in several years.
"He's a real determined young man," said Jaynes. "He has a lot of football knowledge and he adjusts well to game situations. If the play doesn't go as it is designed, he will improvise and make it successful by finding the soft spot in the defense and gaining yardage.
"In the Nebraska game, he ran up in the hole, found it filled. He just lowered his shoulder and ran right through the guy. He gives a lot of effort.
"He's a fine young may to coach because he will do whatever you ask him."
Hopkins, like most of the Wake Forest players, was disappointed that the Deacons lost to Nebraska.
"We scored first and had them in a hole. Then mistakes and fumbles hurt us," said Hopkins. "I expected them to be over-powering but I didn't get hit too hard. They just took advantage of the mistakes we made."
But Hopkins is confident that the Deacons will get better.
"We're going to win a lot of games," he promised.
Day 30: Wake Forest Football, 1889
Day 29: Assistant Coach Beattie Feathers
Day 28: Wake Forest in Japan, 1974
Day 25: Deacon History 101
Day 24: 'M' Non-Lettermen
Day 23: WF Stuns Undefeated Vols
Day 22: Larry Tearry's Poetry
Day 21: Bill Barnes Just Walked In
Day 18: John Mackovic, A Barberton Boy
Day 17: The Jay Venuto Movie
Day 16: Kenny Duckett Finds Four-Leaf Clovers in Astroturf
Day 15: Conquering Athens, 1979
Day 14: Deacons Rally to Down Auburn at Groves, 1979
Day 11: 1959 Football Media Guide
Day 10: Scenes from 1948
Day 9: UVA Triumph and Tragedy