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GOLD & BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 25, ISSUE 4 21 ing the sport early in his high school career. "I didn't want to have any regrets, though," he said. So he joined the team at Nash- ville's powerful Ensworth School for the 2013 season. Two years later, the 6-5, 240-pound tight end is bound for the Big Ten. Purdue saw it quickly, offering Hopkins following his junior season. Only smaller schools followed suit. Florida, though, offered in January, weeks after he'd committed to the Boilermakers. Hopkins stuck, giving Purdue a player it considers to be of great promise. "Obviously I have a long way to go, but I think I'm at a good point right now," Hopkins said. "If I keep work- ing, and with them helping me, which they will, and I keep getting bigger and stronger, I think it'll all work out. But I think I'll be in a pretty good po- sition coming in as a freshman even though I've only played two years." Assistant coach Gerad Parker, Pur- due's point man in Nashville and its tight ends coach up until his recent move to wide receivers, was drawn to Hopkins' athleticism from watching him play basketball. "It shows the kid's got great ball skills and great feet," Parker said. "He's a guy who can, at that weight, still dunk the basketball any way he wants to." Playing a run-oriented offense, Hopkins caught 11 passes for 247 yards and three touchdowns as a se- nior, playing on the defensive line, as well. Playing defense, Hopkins said, helped him cultivate an aggressive mentality to go along with his athlet- ic abilities as an offensive player, the combination of which he hopes to put to good use for Purdue. "They think I can be more of a hy- brid, a 50/50 type of tight end who can block or run a route," Hopkins said. "They have big plans for me. … They think I can be a big target on the field for the quarterback, someone who can be a mismatch." MARKELL JONES Purdue made an early call on the Columbus East running back, locked him up in the summer, then wound up looking pretty good for it when all was said and done. Indiana's Mr. Football ran rough- shod over everything in his path this fall, to the tune of 3,500-plus yards and 60 touchdowns. "Jones has a punishing, down- hill running style and he delivers more blows than he takes," Rivals. Brycen Hopkins hasn't been playing football long but has potential and an NFL pedigree.