Talking Defense With Linebackers Coach Jay Hopson
5/28/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
As one of Michigan's talented young assistant coaches on staff, linebackers coach Jay Hopson is proof that success is no accident. The Mississippi native has nearly 20 years of experience and a resume loaded with accolades, highlighted by the All-American Football Foundation's Top Assistant Award in 2007. His defenses have been some of the stoutest in Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference and the Southeastern Conference, winning four straight MAC titles with Marshall (as well as the 1996 NCAA I-AA National Championship) and leading Conference USA in scoring defense for three seasons (Southern Mississippi, 2005-07).
Hopson was a four-year letterman at Mississippi and, at the conclusion of his career, earned the John Howard Vaught Award for all-around senior excellence as well as Academic All-America honors. He entered the collegiate coaching ranks in 1992 as a graduate assistant and, after one year as a defensive backs coach and two more years as a graduate assistant, landed a job with Marshall in 1996.
"The difference between when I started and how it is now is night and day," said Hopson. "When I was a graduate assistant I painted locker rooms, put up fences, took the coach's car to get washed and built the scaffolding that the head coach could watch practice from. We had to fight to get into the staff rooms back then."
Hopson spent five successful years at Marshall, winning a I-AA national title and transitioning with the Thundering Herd to Division I before joining Southern Mississippi as a defensive backs coach in 2001. Three years at Southern Miss were followed by a year at his alma mater, Mississippi, where Hopson handled the defensive backs and acted as recruiting coordinator. When head coach David Cutcliffe was replaced by Ed Orgeron, Hopson returned to Southern Miss, this time as defensive coordinator.
"I think you learn a little bit from everybody you work with," said Hopson. "Coaches are like thieves. They draw a little bit from everybody, taking pieces from here and there and that's what makes you strong."
Hopson has worked with some excellent defenders in his time, from All-Americans Etric Pruitt and Rogers Beckett to 22 All-Conference selections.
"I think what makes a great linebacker is instincts," said Hopson. "It's an age-old clich, but you have to have a nose for the ball. Linebackers are multitaskers and you can't rely on one aspect of your game. You need to be able to read and dissect things quickly and be physical. It's probably the most physical position on the field because you're four or five yards off the ball, which makes for higher impact collisions.
"As offenses spread the field, tackling in open space becomes more important," Hopson continues. "Ten or 15 years ago, everybody got in with a fullback and tailback and it was like rugby where everyone wanted to bloody each other's nose. Some teams are still power oriented, but today, the majority spread out the defense and force those tackles in the open field."
Working with some of Michigan's speedy, aggressive linebackers, Hopson hopes to continue his legacy of dominating defenses, not only preventing opposing offenses from reaching the end zone but putting points on the board themselves.
