This year’s NFL draft class of tight ends features several talented prospects, but perhaps none are as physically gifted as Purdue’s Brycen Hopkins.
At 6-foot-4 and 245 pounds, with long arms and a basketball background that gives him a sizable athletic advantage against almost any defender he goes up against, Hopkins will be one of the highest tight ends in demand in the 2020 draft. If a team is looking for a playmaker at the position early in the draft, he would be a player worth targeting.
Draft Wire recently talked exclusively with Hopkins about his transition from basketball to football, growing up with an NFL player as a dad, his Senior Bowl performance and his aspirations for the 2020 Scouting Combine.
JI: You started off as a basketball player in high school, but made the switch the football your junior year. What made you decide to join the football team that year?
BH: Going into high school, I was always a basketball, baseball kind of guy. I had never really played football; I played in the backyard a little bit, but never as part of an organization. My junior year – kind of my sophomore year, really – I started seeing myself getting bigger. High school comes and you’re hitting the weights and you start seeing some results in that area.
I knew I had the athleticism for it, [but] I wasn’t sure what position I would play. I didn’t really know any of the positions anyway, I knew some them, but I decided to go out there. They put me out there at tight end for spring ball – I think that might’ve been 2012, I want to say – they put me at spring ball tight end, outside linebacker, defensive end. But really it was just that I saw myself getting bigger in the weight room, and I thought maybe I could apply my athleticism to the field instead of basketball. I wasn’t getting the looks that I wanted from as many D-1 schools that I wanted for basketball. I would say I was a good player, but I didn’t have the size to play the position I wanted.
JI: Eventually, you did get those D-1 offers for football. How did your high school coaches react to what was pretty much instant success when you joined the team?
BH: It’s funny, because [former Purdue wide receivers and tight ends] coach Gerad Parker, who was the recruiting coach who came down to the school, he wasn’t even there for me; I think he was there to see one of our safeties. He just kind of saw me out there practicing, running, catching, he saw my athleticism and he was really interested in that. He knew how basketball could correlate football and how the athleticism could easily transfer if you were willing to put in the effort. So he kept an eye on me and kept visiting after that.
About the third time he came down to see me, we were playing pickup on a basketball court on one of the days after school during the offseason. I dunked on somebody and he offered me right there. He pulled me into the hallway and he said, ‘we’re going to offer you here, if that’s something you’re willing to do’. I said, ‘yeah, of course. I don’t really know what the plan is here, but I’ll run with it. I think it’s a great opportunity for me, and I’m willing to take advantage of it’.
JI: Even though you had clear physical tools, you had a relative lack of experience heading into college. Did that give you a chip on your shoulder when going up against guys who had played for longer?
BH: To a certain extent, I would say. I might have had a little bit of a chip on my shoulder, but I still lacked that confidence that I needed. The change in my confidence from my freshman year to my senior year was incredible; that just came with repetition. Going into [Purdue], I said ‘man, I’ve only have two years on my shoulder, I don’t know how I even got here, really. There must something that people see in me that I have the ability to succeed at this level. Sure enough, all my coaching staff, they just kept reassuring me, ‘stick with it’. You could be a good player if you just put your mind to it’, and that’s what I did.
Over the years, I’ve just trying to get better. I’ve worked on the mental aspect a lot more on the physical, because I was kind of born and gifted by God with those talents, so I tried to focus on the mental aspect to make it easier on the field for me so I didn’t have to rely so much on thinking; I could just react to it.
JI: Part of that physical ability has to come from genetics, with your dad having played as a Pro Bowl lineman for the Titans. Did spending those early years of your life around influence your desire to go pro?
BH: As a kid, I wouldn’t say it influenced me; I was just along for the ride. I enjoyed it, I liked the sport, I thought it was cool, but I had such a love for basketball that I was like, ‘this is what I want to do’. I didn’t really pay too much attention to it, but then, once I actually started playing my junior year, that’s when I saw how the path could be laid out for me it that might be able to help me and influence me to actually try and make it to the NFL.
When I first got my first college offer, I was in shock. I never even thought that I’d be playing football in college. I didn’t really think that I had what it took; I didn’t know what it took, but I was just kind of ignorant in that area and kind of doubted myself, you know? Once I started to actually get the reps in that I needed, I saw myself progress as a player. I could tell that the gifts that dad and mom gave me were going to pay off if I just stuck with it, so I would say it really influenced me once I actually started playing.
JI: During your time at Purdue, you guys had some extremely talented offenses. What were your experiences playing under head coach Jeff Brohm?
BH: As soon as coach Jeff Brohm came in, all I heard was ‘this guy likes tight ends, this should be a good opportunity for you’. I believed it, I trusted him. Coming in, I could already tell once I started learning the offense how it was going to be based around tight ends, how much he loved to run the spread and throw the ball, and how I could use my athleticism out there in the flex, as well as being a dual-threat tight end helping with the run blocking game. As soon as he came in, I just knew I had an opportunity here, and I was going to have to step up my play, because they were going to be expecting a lot of me. And that’s exactly what I did; I think I progressed through the years. Starting from 2016 to 2019, I think you’ll see a progression in the level of play. An immense progression, I would say.
JI: What are you going to miss the most about playing at Purdue?
BH: The camaraderie. I haven’t been a part of a team these past few months; I still talk to a lot of them, I’m connected with them, but that’s my family up there. I lived with them, I’ve been there for five years, that’s all I knew. Of course the game atmosphere, too, I miss that. Just putting in all that work in order just to get these 12 to 13 opportunities for us at Purdue. I never made it to a championship or anything like that, but those 12 to 13 opportunities I would get per year where what motivated us to put in that work and just have it pay off every Saturday.
JI: You’re one month removed from the Senior Bowl. What was it like getting the chance to go up against all of those top prospects and learn from NFL coaches?
BH: It was great. It was great for me, it was great for my game, the way that they were able to get the information to me and how I was going to take it and run with it and see what I can do with this information from the next level, how can my skills translate to the next level, and also going against such great competition: it’s the best of the best, all across the country, altogether at one spot. So you kind of see how your skills have really built over the years of going against the competition that if you do well, it gives you confidence, and if you do poorly, it might get you down a little bit, but there’s nothing wrong with that as long as you just stick with it. I think I had a lot of opportunities to show coaches what I was made of and the abilities that I have. Overall, I think the experience was great.
JI: While you were in Mobile, Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy said that you’ll get a 40-inch vertical at the NFL Scouting Combine. Do you think you’ll be able to reach that?
BH: [laughs] I wanna say [Detroit Lions quarterback David] Blough maybe gassed me up on that a bit. A 40-inch vertical would be great. I did just recently jump a 37.5, so I’m trying to get in that 38 range. I don’t know about a 40-inch vertical. I’m more of a basketball guy. You give me a one-foot jump, I think I could easily get there, but that two-foot jump is something different. I think you’ll see how the athleticism correlates to the game, but I don’t know about a 40-inch vert.
JI: Either way, even if you don’t drop 40, those would be some impressive numbers.
BH: For sure, for sure. If I do jump a 40, I’ll make sure to call you and say thanks [laughs].
JI: How has your preparation been for the rest of the Combine drills coming up?
BH: Ever since I got done with the season, I headed straight down to Nashville and started my training immediately. Jordan Luallen at BOOST Performance down there in Nashville has done a great job of just diving into the details and how you want to run these drills, how to be precise and efficient and get the best times and form and everything. I’m confident in the way that he’s built me as a tester.
I’m actually kind of confident going down here that if I just prepare well enough and have a good mindset going into it that I can put up the same numbers I put up at the mock days we would have. If I do that, I think I would have an all-around good Pro Day [and Combine].
JI: You mentioned the vertical jump, but do you have any other benchmarks you’d like to reach for some of those drills?
BH: For the 40, I’m thinking I want to run in the low 4.6s. If I can get into the 4.5s range, which I did a couple times, that would be awesome. I think that that might help my stock a lot. For bench, I want to get 20 reps. For the three-cone, I would love to get below 7 [seconds]. That would be perfect. I ran a 6.75 on the three-cone. On the [20-yard] shuttle, maybe below a 4.2. That’s the mark that I’m going for. All my numbers, I’m trying to be in the top 3 among tight ends. We all related it to the past four years of the Combine; we would look at those numbers to see where we were at. That’s another reason I’m feeling kind of confident.
JI: What do you think is the most important trait to have for a tight end?
BH: Versatility, for sure. I would say the ability to do what’s asked of you, whether that’s in the blocking game, the run game, or they need you to make a big play down the field or open up gaps and get defenders off the line of scrimmage for the running back. Also, just be a smart player. There’s a lot asked of you; there’s a lot that teams are going to ask you to do. Just do it without questioning it and actually know what to do, I think there’s a lot of value in that, so versatility is my No. 1 answer for sure.
JI: How do you like to spend your time outside of football?
BH: Just hanging out with friends. I play Xbox and stuff. Anything to do with socializing – not really going out, but just having some friends over, going over to a friend’s house, just hanging out and laughing. I’m big into video games, so we get into it there, obviously. I love cars, too, so I have a lot of little hobbies that I’m into, but nothing bigger than football right now.
JI: Do you have a dream car that you’re looking at once you get to the pros?
BH: Man, I actually drive a Mustang right now. I would want to upgrade and get a better Mustang. I won’t say specifically what type. I always wanted one; my dad got me one when I went off to college as part of my scholarship deal. I got a scholarship, so he got me a nice little car, but now I would like to buy myself an even cooler Mustang. That’s my love of cars.
JI: Would that be your first purchase after getting your first NFL paycheck?
BH: I’m not really looking at anything else. I would love to just settle down and invest my money. I’m not looking to make any big purchases other than that. People say that it might depreciate the value, but when you love cars as much as I do, I’ll get every bit of joy out of that thing, so that’s all I’m really looking to do, and I just want to invest my money and let it sit there and work for me. [I’ll] maybe invest in property with that, as well.
JI: Let’s say I’m an NFL general manager. What would I be getting if I drafted you to my team?
BH: You’d be getting whatever you wanted, I would say. Whatever type of player you thought I was, I think I can even surpass that level of that expectation. Like I said earlier, the versatility, you’d be getting an athlete that’s versatile on the field and the ability to do what’s asked of him and actually succeed. I think I have a special ability of making plays downfield, but I’ll also do what’s asked, and the blocking effort is just the willingness to do it. Sticking your head in there, fighting through it, having good form, I think I can do all of that for a team, and I would love to participate to the success of an offense like that. Any way I can contribute to the success, I’m willing to do it.
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