Titans' DeAndre Hopkins: I 'Vowed' to Make Parents Proud by Graduating from Clemson
Before he was a five-time Pro Bowl NFL player, Tennessee Titans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins spent three years playing for the Clemson Tigers. Now Hopkins is… DeAndre Hopkins, the Tennessee Titans' wide receiver, is returning to Clemson University to complete his degree in parks, recreation and tourism management in honor of his mother and late father. Hopkins plans to attend online and virtual classes to complete the degree. He credits his success to an "unbreakable bond" with his mother, Sandra Greenlee, a founder of S.M.O.T.H.H., a nonprofit helping women who have suffered domestic violence victims. Hopkins missed 15 games for the Arizona Cardinals over the past two seasons due to suspension and injury, but his current injury status for Week 3 against the Cleveland Browns is currently "TBD".
Veröffentlicht : vor 2 Jahren durch Julia Stumbaugh in Sports
Now Hopkins is heading back to Clemson, and, this time, he plans to leave with a degree.
Hopkins told reporters Friday he is attending online and virtual classes to receive a degree in parks, recreation and tourism management in honor of his mother and late father, per ESPN's Turron Davenport and TennesseeTitans.com's Jim Wyatt.
"It's important because I come from a family where not a lot of people graduated," Hopkins said.
"I vowed that I would make both of them proud and graduate, and that was something that I promised my mom that I would do, knowing that my father would want me to graduate college."
Hopkins said his love of country music festivals led to an interest in facility management, so it seems fortuitous that his July free-agency signing took him to Music City.
That passion might have been part of what inspired Hopkins to make the Titans his first visit in free agency after his May release by the Arizona Cardinals.
Hopkins has previously credited his football success to what he described to Yahoo Parenting in 2015 as an "unbreakable bond" with his mother, Sandra Greenlee.
Greenlee is the founder of S.M.O.O.O.T.H. (Speaking. Mentally. Outwardly. Opening. Opportunities. Toward. Healing.), a nonprofit helping women who have suffered domestic violence. Greenlee, a survivor herself, was partially blinded by an acid attack when Hopkins was 10.
On the field, Hopkins has made 11 catches for 105 yards through his first two games as a Titan.
Due to suspension and injury, Hopkins missed 15 games for the Cardinals over the past two seasons. That pattern looked set to continue when Hopkins injured his ankle at the tail end of the Titans' Week 1 loss to the New Orleans Saints.
Hopkins played through the ankle injury in Week 2's overtime win against the Los Angeles Chargers, but his status for Week 3 against the Cleveland Browns is currently "TBD," per TennesseeTitans.com's Jim Wyatt.
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