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Westlake's Tommy Hopkins Commits to UConn Football

THORNWOOD, N.Y. – Westlake junior Tommy Hopkins still has one year left of high school football as a Wildcat. However, Hopkins already knows that he will soon be a Husky after he verbally committed to play college football at the University of Connecticut on Monday afternoon. 

“They have a great program and amazing facilities, and I’ve heard great things about Coach Paul Pasqualoni,” Hopkins said. “UConn was always my favorite, and they were the first big program to offer me a scholarship, so I figured why wait?”

Hopkins, a 6-foot-6 offensive tackle listed at 282 pounds, is considered one of the top high school football recruits in New York. In addition to UConn, major Division 1 programs such as Penn State, Rutgers, Boston College and Virginia all showed interest in the Hawthorne native. Hopkins was one of 500 players in the nation invited to participate in the U.S. Army National Combine in January, a selective premier showcase for high school football players. 

In a January interview with The Daily Mount Pleasant, Hopkins said he wanted to commit to a school before his senior season began. After visiting UConn this spring, he immediately knew that was where he wanted to go.

“As soon as I walked on the campus I just knew it was the right school for me,” Hopkins said. “I just had this feeling.”

UConn plays in the Big East Conference and went 5-7 last year in its first season under Pasqualoni as head coach. In 2010, UConn won the Big East Conference before losing to the University of Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. 

Now that Hopkins’ college plans are settled, he is looking forward to his final season at Westlake.

“I’m so excited for this season to get started,” Hopkins said. “I’m really hoping this year we can get back to some of our winning ways.”

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