Greg Hopkins (born November 16, 1971) is a former

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

with the Albany Firebirds and the

Los Angeles Avengers The Los Angeles Avengers were an Arena Football League team based in Los Angeles, California, from 2000 through 2008. They folded on April 19, 2009. History The Los Angeles Avengers played their home games at the Staples Center, which is also th ...

High school career

Greg Hopkins was born in

Waynesburg, Pennsylvania Waynesburg is a borough in and the county seat of Greene County, Pennsylvania, United States, located about south of Pittsburgh. Its population was 3,987 at the 2020 census. The region around Waynesburg is underlaid with several layers of cok ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He attended West Greene Junior/Senior High School and then

Waynesburg Central High School Waynesburg Central High School is a public high school serving around 500 students in grades 9-12 and is located near Waynesburg, the county seat of Greene County. WCHS is the sole high school of the Central Greene School District. School Campus ...

in Waynesburg,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

and was a

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

, a

wrestler Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat sport ...

on the wrestling team, and a record-setting

javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's decathlon and the ...

er on the

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

team.

College career

While attending

Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania Slippery Rock University, formally Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania (The Rock or SRU), is a public university in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania. SRU is a member of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE). The university ...

, Greg Hopkins was a four-year

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

and a two-year letterman in wrestling. In football, he was a three-time

All America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

honoree, a three-time All-

Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. The conference was originally formed in 1951 as the State Teachers C ...

selection, and won Academic All-America honors as a senior. He set nine school records, and finished his spectacular college career with 215 receptions for 3,382 yards (15.73 yards per reception avg.).

Arena Football League career

* 1996 - Albany Firebirds: Was limited to two games due to a hand injury and finished the year with two receptions and three tackles. * 1997 - Albany Firebirds: He had a solid year, making 58 receptions for 908 yards (15.66 yards per rec. avg.) and 15 touchdowns on offense, and 22 tackles and two pass deflections on defense. * 2001 -

Indiana Firebirds The Indiana Firebirds were a team in the Arena Football League. The team was based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Home games were played at the Conseco Fieldhouse, also the home of the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association and Indiana ...

: Hopkins was a strong candidate for "Ironman of the Year" honors. On offense, he made 102 receptions for 1,226 yards (12.02 yards per rec. avg.) and 18 touchdowns. On defense, he made 0.5 sack, 34 tackles, four forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, two interceptions, and three pass deflections. * 2002 -

: Hopkins had a spectacular year, and won first team All-Arena honors, All-Ironman honors (at both WR and LB), and was voted "Ironman of the Year." He finished the year with 102 receptions for 1,185 receiving yards (11.62 yards per rec. avg.) and 29 touchdowns on offense. As a linebacker, he posted five interceptions, 45 tackles, a forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries. * 2003 -

: Hopkins had another superb year and made 87 receptions for 1192 yards and won All-Arena honors after the conclusion of the season. On June 17, 2007, his number, #82, was officially retired by the

during a halftime ceremony. He was named to the

Arena Football Hall of Fame The Arena Football Hall of Fame is the official Hall of Fame of the Arena Football League (AFL). The inaugural class was announced in 1998 and the Hall was not formally organized until 2011. Prior to 2011, there were four classes: 1998–200 ...

on August 10, 2013.

Political career

In 2006, Hopkins was the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

nominee for the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

from that state's 50th Legislative District, which includes all of Greene County and small parts of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

and Fayette counties. He received approximately 47 percent of the vote against the district's longtime incumbent legislator,

Bill DeWeese H. William DeWeese (born April 18, 1950) is an American politician who is a former member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. A member of the Democratic Party, DeWeese served as the 135th Speaker of the Pennsylvania House from 1993 to ...

, winning in Greene County and losing by small margins in the other counties. Hopkins announced that he would make a second run for the Republican nomination for the seat in 2008. He was defeated by the incumbent,

References

External links

Stats at ArenaFan

Campaign web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hopkins, Greg 1971 births Living people People from Waynesburg, Pennsylvania American football wide receivers American football linebackers Players of American football from Pennsylvania Albany Firebirds players Indiana Firebirds players Los Angeles Avengers players Pennsylvania Republicans Slippery Rock football players