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PITTSBURG —
Barry Sanders. Darren Sproles. Danny Woodhead.
All three are running backs who were under-appreciated by four-year colleges and didn’t get as many scholarship offers because of their size. Two — Sanders and Woodhead — set NCAA records. Sproles and Woodhead are in the NFL, while Sanders is a likely hall-of-famer.
Fort Scott Community College coach Jeff Sims said he thinks former Greyhound Jasmin Hopkins will be added to that list.
“I think he was underrated 100 percent,” Sims said. “I totally believe he should be at KU or someplace like that. But they didn’t even look at him. The reason is obvious ... he’s 5-foot-7 and 179 pounds.
“People would say, ‘oh, we have this guy, or that guy.’ But if LaDanian Tomlinson became available, wouldn’t they have a spot open?” Sims asked. “I don’t know when guys are going to learn this lesson and rate guys on production.”
There’s no doubting Hopkins’ production. He rushed for 3,158 yards in two seasons, including a sophomore year where he led the NJCAA in rushing (1,931 yards) and scoring (16 touchdowns). He helped to steer the Greyhounds to within a punt return of a NJCAA title, and garnered the NJCAA Offensive Player of the Year award for his efforts.
But those numbers apparently weren’t enough to wow big-time colleges. Rivals.com rates the top 50 junior college prospects in the country, and Hopkins’s name isn’t on the list. Two teammates — Lavonté David and Jermarcus Hardrick — and several opponents — including the Rivals’ No. 1 JUCO player in the country, Blinn’s Cameron Newton — did make the cut.
Attention from colleges mirrored that of the list. While David and Hardrick are headed to Nebraska, and Newton to Auburn, Hopkins found himself choosing between offers from Arkansas State, Southern Mississippi and Northern Illinois. He chose the Huskies and enrolled to play for former Pittsburg State coach Jerry Kill for their tradition, facilities and educational opportunities.
At the same time, Hopkins said the lack of interest from other colleges stung.
“I feel like I was really overlooked a lot,” Hopkins said. “I don’t think I could do anything else as a running back.
“Personally, I think if I had just two more inches, I would have had all kinds of offers,” Hopkins said. “If you look at other running backs with more height and weight, I guarantee the stuff I did was way better than what they did.”
Hopkins said that slight would serve as motivation during his Huskies career. And Northern Illinois is familiar with that role — former running back Garrett Wolfe was another overlooked prospect out of high school. Despite running for 4,311 yards and 56 touchdowns the final two years of his high school career, Wolfe’s size — he and Hopkins are almost identical in that respect — scared bigger schools away.
Their loss was the Huskies’ gain — Wolfe rushed for more than 5,000 yards in three seasons and was named an All-American. He is currently with the Chicago Bears.
But while Hopkins said he looks at Wolfe as an inspiration, he said he wants to blaze his own trail.
“There are a lot of running backs who have been overlooked who have done well,” Hopkins said. “I want to follow in those footsteps, but at the same time, I want to make myself better than they have been.”
Other than size, Hopkins has the tools. He’s run a 4.41-second 40-yard dash, and runs with the ferocity of a much bigger player.
“He has tremendous vision and the power to get through the hole. Once he gets there, he accelerates through,” Sims said. “He’s an extremely quick individual.
“But his greatest asset is that he’s just so tough to get down,” Sims said. “That’s the type of person Jas is. He runs with such a fierce competitiveness.”
It’s that competitive nature that makes Sims so sure that he’ll be hearing Hopkins’s name in the same category as guys like Sproles, Woodhead and Sanders.
“If you look at the great running backs in history, so many are between 5-7 and 5-10,” Sims said. “He’s somebody that I think people will look back on and say that they totally underestimated him.
“He’s somebody who takes challenges and meets them head on,” Sims said. “And I’ll never underestimate that.”
Kevin Flaherty can be reached at kevin.flaherty@morningsun.net or by calling 231-2600 Ext. 134
Barry Sanders. Darren Sproles. Danny Woodhead.
All three are running backs who were under-appreciated by four-year colleges and didn’t get as many scholarship offers because of their size. Two — Sanders and Woodhead — set NCAA records. Sproles and Woodhead are in the NFL, while Sanders is a likely hall-of-famer.
Fort Scott Community College coach Jeff Sims said he thinks former Greyhound Jasmin Hopkins will be added to that list.
“I think he was underrated 100 percent,” Sims said. “I totally believe he should be at KU or someplace like that. But they didn’t even look at him. The reason is obvious ... he’s 5-foot-7 and 179 pounds.
“People would say, ‘oh, we have this guy, or that guy.’ But if LaDanian Tomlinson became available, wouldn’t they have a spot open?” Sims asked. “I don’t know when guys are going to learn this lesson and rate guys on production.”
There’s no doubting Hopkins’ production. He rushed for 3,158 yards in two seasons, including a sophomore year where he led the NJCAA in rushing (1,931 yards) and scoring (16 touchdowns). He helped to steer the Greyhounds to within a punt return of a NJCAA title, and garnered the NJCAA Offensive Player of the Year award for his efforts.
But those numbers apparently weren’t enough to wow big-time colleges. Rivals.com rates the top 50 junior college prospects in the country, and Hopkins’s name isn’t on the list. Two teammates — Lavonté David and Jermarcus Hardrick — and several opponents — including the Rivals’ No. 1 JUCO player in the country, Blinn’s Cameron Newton — did make the cut.
Attention from colleges mirrored that of the list. While David and Hardrick are headed to Nebraska, and Newton to Auburn, Hopkins found himself choosing between offers from Arkansas State, Southern Mississippi and Northern Illinois. He chose the Huskies and enrolled to play for former Pittsburg State coach Jerry Kill for their tradition, facilities and educational opportunities.
At the same time, Hopkins said the lack of interest from other colleges stung.
“I feel like I was really overlooked a lot,” Hopkins said. “I don’t think I could do anything else as a running back.
“Personally, I think if I had just two more inches, I would have had all kinds of offers,” Hopkins said. “If you look at other running backs with more height and weight, I guarantee the stuff I did was way better than what they did.”
Hopkins said that slight would serve as motivation during his Huskies career. And Northern Illinois is familiar with that role — former running back Garrett Wolfe was another overlooked prospect out of high school. Despite running for 4,311 yards and 56 touchdowns the final two years of his high school career, Wolfe’s size — he and Hopkins are almost identical in that respect — scared bigger schools away.
Their loss was the Huskies’ gain — Wolfe rushed for more than 5,000 yards in three seasons and was named an All-American. He is currently with the Chicago Bears.
But while Hopkins said he looks at Wolfe as an inspiration, he said he wants to blaze his own trail.
“There are a lot of running backs who have been overlooked who have done well,” Hopkins said. “I want to follow in those footsteps, but at the same time, I want to make myself better than they have been.”
Other than size, Hopkins has the tools. He’s run a 4.41-second 40-yard dash, and runs with the ferocity of a much bigger player.
“He has tremendous vision and the power to get through the hole. Once he gets there, he accelerates through,” Sims said. “He’s an extremely quick individual.
“But his greatest asset is that he’s just so tough to get down,” Sims said. “That’s the type of person Jas is. He runs with such a fierce competitiveness.”
It’s that competitive nature that makes Sims so sure that he’ll be hearing Hopkins’s name in the same category as guys like Sproles, Woodhead and Sanders.
“If you look at the great running backs in history, so many are between 5-7 and 5-10,” Sims said. “He’s somebody that I think people will look back on and say that they totally underestimated him.
“He’s somebody who takes challenges and meets them head on,” Sims said. “And I’ll never underestimate that.”
Kevin Flaherty can be reached at kevin.flaherty@morningsun.net or by calling 231-2600 Ext. 134
