They are Derrick Odom (Jackson Callaway), Milton Talbert (Hattiesburg), Corderick Govan (Charleston), Hendrick
Leverett (Oak Grove), and Pascagoula's Domonic Hopson. Martez Smith (Velma Jackson) is also a member of the Scout.com South's Top
100 squad.
Five of the listed six linebacker prospects attended the Ole Miss Skilled camp last Saturday. Hopson more than held his own against the premier
prospects. He has great field awareness, speed, and a mean streak that is needed
for the next level.
Player
Profile
Height:
6' 2" (Ole Miss Camp)
Weight: 231(Ole
Miss Camp)
40 time: 4.6
(Ole
Miss Camp)
Bench: 310
Squat:
420
Grades: 3.3 Core GPA / 22 ACT
From: Pascagoula, MS
High School:
Pascagoula (5A)
The
following information was revealed during our interview with Domonic Hopson:
What are your strengths at linebacker? "I think I have a
nose for the ball. I am always around the ball. I think that is my best quality."
What
most do you need to work on? "I am trying to get faster and get my feet quicker."
How
long have you been starting for Pascagoula? "Since the 10th grade."
What
were your stats as a junior? "I had 114 tackles, 3 sacks, and 3 int's. I
had over a 100 tackles in my sophomore year too."
Did you garner any
awards last year? "I made All-District and All-Region."
Which
colleges are showing you the most interest? "I have been offered by Ole Miss,
USM, and Rice. Vandy is recruiting me real hard, and I get a lot of letters from
LSU. I have talked to Tennessee on the phone a few times. I am getting a lot of
letters from everybody, but those are the schools that are recruiting me pretty
hard."
Out all of the schools you listed, who is recruiting you the
hardest? "I would say Ole Miss."
Which colleges have come down
to evaluate you? "Ole Miss came down. Coach Henson from LSU came over. Coach
Kitchens from MSU came down. Memphis came down. A lot of them have come down,
I just can not think of all of them right now."
Who keeps in weekly
phone contact with you? "Vandy, Ole Miss, MSU, and I think that is about
it. Some others call every now and then, but not like them three."
Which
colleges are standing out right now? "I really liked Ole Miss' facilities
when I went up there. I like all of the Mississippi schools. I want to stay instate
and help us win a national championship, but I liked LSU's facilities too when
I went up there for Jr Day. I am going to watch them and see what Coach Miles
can do. I like Vandy too."
Which camps have you attended and where
are you going next? "I have only been to Ole Miss' Skilled camp, and I have
not made up my mind yet on the other camps. The only one I know for sure is the
LSU Team Camp that is on the 18th. That is the only one I know for sure."
Talk
about your experience at the Ole Miss camp? "I learned a lot. It was more
than I expected. I thought we would be doing a bunch of 7 on 7's, but we did a
lot more individual drills, which I liked better. You get to learn more about
the game of football. They taught me a lot of techniques that should me get better.
I can not wait to get back out there to see how much better I have gotten. And
the thing that I liked most about the Ole Miss camp was their coaches. Every time
you made a good play, they all came running out on the field jumping up and down
to congratulate you. I like their coach's enthusiasm the most."
What
attracts you to MSU? "I like Coach Croom. He seems like he is going to get
it together up there. I like their coaches. They are good people. They are straight
forward with you. I do not want to go somewhere where I can not trust the coaches.
It has be like family."
What are USM's positives? "The biggest
thing with USM is that it is close to home. It is only like a 90 minute drive
from my house. My mother can get up there easily to watch the games. It would
make it easy on my family."
How about LSU? "I really like LSU.
I grew up watching LSU. A lot of people in this town pull for LSU, so people are
always coming up to you and telling you to go to LSU. They get a lot of support
from around here. They are also close to home. It is only like a 2 1/2 drive from
my house, so it is real close too. My brother signed with Rice last year (Trey Hopson), so if it were an early game, she could watch me and not be going out
of her way to see my brother play in Houston (TX)."
What attracts
you to Vandy? "I like Vandy because they were the first school to send me
hand written letters. They have been real consistent with me. I like the way they
have recruited me. I talked to Coach Kenny Carter, and he told me that they now
have some film on me, and they were probably going to be offering me real soon.
It is a good academic institution too."
And lastly, Ole Miss? "I
like Ole Miss' facilities the best. They have the Walk of Champions where they
get like 20,000 fans on each side. You have got to be excited about that. The
atmosphere up there during football season is crazy. It is all about football
up there."
What will you be looking at when it comes decision time?
"Academics, it is really all about academics with my mother. If you do not
keep at least a B average on your report card, you have to sit out of football
at our house. It did not take long for me and my brothers to learn that rule (laugh).
I do want to go to a winning team, but the coaches will play a real big part.
But the biggest thing will be the academics and then the coaches."
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