Bradley D. Hopkins (born September 5, 1970) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

player. He played

left tackle Tackle is a playing position in gridiron football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, o ...

for 13 seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

(NFL), all of them with the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans organization.

Early years

Hopkins was an outstanding two-sport athlete at Moline High School, lettering in football as well as basketball. In football, Hopkins played on both offense and defense, playing on the defensive line as well as at tight end. In basketball, Hopkins played power forward, and was in the same lineup as future

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

shot-blocker and NBA first-round draft pick

Acie Earl Acie Boyd Earl (born June 23, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player, who appeared in four National Basketball Association (NBA) seasons, as a , center. He also played many seasons in Europe. High school/college Born in Pe ...

College

Hopkins received a scholarship to play football for the

Illinois Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's varsity sports. The University operates a number of athletic faci ...

and was recruited by

John Mackovic John Mackovic (born October 1, 1943) is an American football coach. He is currently the head coach of the Italy national American football team, which was formed to compete in the EFAF European Championship. Previously, Mackovic served as the he ...

. As a freshman, Hopkins was a reserve offensive lineman, blocking for future NFL overall first pick Jeff George. George guided the Illini to the

1990 Florida Citrus Bowl The 1990 Florida Citrus Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game at the Florida Citrus Bowl stadium in Orlando, Florida between the University of Illinois Fighting Illini and the Virginia Cavaliers on January 1, 1990. The game ...

against the

Virginia Cavaliers The Virginia Cavaliers, also known as ''Wahoos'' or ''Hoos'', are the athletic teams representing the University of Virginia, located in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers compete at the NCAA Division I level ( FBS for football), in the Atlantic C ...

after a 9–2 record, second only to the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except women's water polo, which competes in the NCAA inter-divisio ...

in the Big Ten Conference. His sophomore year, Hopkins became a starter, and started ten games at left tackle for quarterback Jason Verduzco. The Illini posted an 8–4 record, tied for first in the Big Ten and went to the

Hall of Fame Bowl The ReliaQuest Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, usually on New Year's Day. The event has been formerly called the Hall of Fame Bowl from 1986 to 1995 and the Outback Bowl from 1996 to ...

, losing to the

Clemson Tigers The Clemson Tigers are the athletic teams that represent Clemson University, located in Clemson, South Carolina. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) ...

. The following season, in 1991, Hopkins started all 12 games once again protecting Verduzco, and received All-Big Ten honors. The team posted a 6–6 record, good for fifth place in the Big Ten, and a trip to the

1991 John Hancock Bowl The 1991 John Hancock Bowl was a college football bowl game played at Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso, Texas, El Paso, Texas (U.S. state), Texas between the 1991 Illinois Fighting Illini football team, University of Illinois Fighting Illini and the 1 ...

. His senior year, Hopkins was selected team captain by first-year coach

Lou Tepper Lou Tepper (born September 7, 1945) is a former American football coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 1991 to 1996, the Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, from 2000 to 2005, and In ...

, along with John Wright and Steven Mueller. He started all 12 games at left tackle and was named All-American as well as All-Big Ten. The Illini played in the 1992 Holiday Bowl, finishing with a 6–5–1 season. Hopkins graduated from

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Uni ...

with a degree in Speech Communications.

Professional

Hopkins was selected in the first round of the

1993 NFL Draft The 1993 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 25–26, 1993, at the Marriot M ...

by the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 a ...

. In his rookie season, Hopkins started eleven games at left tackle and was named first-team All-Rookie by several organization

Hopkins started all sixteen games for the Oilers for the 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1999 seasons, blocking for fellow Big Ten alumnus

Eddie George Edward Nathan George Jr. (born September 24, 1973) is an American football coach and former player who is the current head coach at Tennessee State. He played as a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons, primarily ...

. In 1999, the Titans made it to

Super Bowl XXXIV Super Bowl XXXIV was an American football game played at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on January 30, 2000, to determine the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1999 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion St. Louis ...

in which Hopkins started, however they lost to the

Kurt Warner Kurtis Eugene Warner (born June 22, 1971) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals. His career, which saw him ascend f ...

-led St. Louis Rams. In 2000, Hopkins earned a trip to the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

, starting in all but one game for the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...

. Hopkins was part of an offensive line that allowed the third-lowest number of sacks in the NFL, and George gained over 1,500 yards rushing. That season, the Titans finished with a 13-3 record, winning the AFC Central Division, but lost to the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

in the first round of the playoffs. Hopkins continued starting for the Titans, and earned another trip to the Pro Bowl in 2003, starting all sixteen games for the fifth time in his career. The Titans were propelled by a high-powered offense with Steve McNair and

, which scored 30 points in six consecutive games – a franchise record. He announced his retirement from football on June 14, 2006. Along with Steve McNair, he was the last player left from the Houston Oilers. He currently works as an analyst for SiruisXM's ESPNU, B1G, ACC, SEC, Mad Dog Radio and NFL Radio.

External links

* http://www.nflplayers.com/players/player.aspx?id=20032 * https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/HopkBr00.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Hopkins, Brad 1970 births Living people African-American players of American football American football offensive tackles Houston Oilers players Tennessee Oilers players Tennessee Titans players American Conference Pro Bowl players Illinois Fighting Illini football players Players of American football from Columbia, South Carolina 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople