Daniel's Hopkins, Hanna's Bryant officially sign with Clemson

DeAndre Hopkins signs with Clemson

Daniel WR/S is a lifelong Tigers fan

Martavis Bryant signs with Clemson

Hanna WR was Clemson's first commit of ...

Two of Clemson’s longest held, and most stable verbal commitments of this class officially signed with the Tigers this morning.

D.W. Daniel all-purpose standout DeAndre Hopkins, and T.L. Hanna wide receiver Martavis Bryant made official what has been expected to happen for many months and years.

Both lifelong Clemson fans, Bryant was the Tigers’ first commitment of this class when he verbally announced he had accepted Clemson’s offer in February, 2008 as a sophomore at Calhoun Falls.

Hopkins signed nearly 11 months after he verbally committed.

Both are 4-star recruits according to recruiting Web sites Rivals.com and Scout.com, and both played in the Shrine Bowl. Bryant also played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. They’re two of three receivers in Clemson’s class along with Gaffney’s Joe Craig.

Bryant caught 70 passes for 722 yards and 11 TDs last season. Hopkins, the two-time Anderson Independent-Mail Player of the Year, made 24 catches for 505 yards and seven TDs last season. On defense had six interceptions, and returned two for touchdowns. He also had four returns for touchdowns on special teams.

Hopkins, who played safety and wide receiver for the Lions, is listed as a receiver at Clemson, but he said he could also play both ways.

“Coach Dabo (Swinney) and Coach (Jeff) Scott both told me that if I come in and bust my butt, there’s no doubt that I’ll get no less than 30 snaps,” said Hopkins, who has backed off an earlier desire to try to also play basketball at Clemson. “I expect to get a lot of (playing time) next season. I have to come out in the summer and work hard, bust my butt, and I expect to have a job.”

Bryant said he was “very excited” about making his pledge official, and that the Clemson coaches have said he has a good chance to start if he works hard.

Bryant said it was a difficult to block out other schools recruiting him, but it helped that he knew Clemson was the right place for him.

“It was pretty hard, but I got through it, I’m glad it’s over,” said Bryant, who didn’t take an official visit to another school, added that he’d wear No. 1 in college.

Hanna coach Kenya Fouch said Bryant needs a solid academic semester, like he performed in the fall, to ensure that he can enroll at Clemson after graduation. Fouch said he would have a better idea of Bryant’s grade point average by the end of March. If Bryant isn’t eligible to enroll at Clemson, Fouch said Georgia Military College, a junior college, could be a destination.

Hopkins deflected attention during the recruiting process, which kept the number of his offers less than double digits, and squarely focused on the Tigers.

“I kind of knew I wanted to be a Tiger the whole time,” Hopkins said, despite basketball offers from Florida and South Carolina. “I was just waiting for that day, that offer, and it felt like it was the right time when I committed.”

Daniel coach Randy Robinson said Hopkins would wear No. 6 at Clemson.

SIGNING DAY ROUNDUP

Newberry College football found a pipeline locally and collected six local athletes. They are Westside quarterback Brandon McCann, Seneca defensive back T.J. Boyd, West-Oak linebacker Adam Holbrooks, and Daniel’s Brandon Anderson, a running back, Marquez McDowell, a receiver, and Zack Hellard, a defensive lineman.

McCann, a three-year starter for the Rams, finished last season passing for 2,169 yards, 20 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. He completed 175 of 321 attempts. Boyd had 34 total tackles, two forced fumbles, and returned an interception 12 yards for a touchdown. Holbrooks had a team-high 152 tackles for the Warriors, with three for a loss, one and a half sacks, and four pass breakups.

Anderson suffered a torn ACL in his left knee midway through the season, but rushed 76 times for 414 yards and seven touchdowns after beginning the season as Daniel’s starting tailback.

McDowell caught 24 passes for 329 yards and a TD. Hellard made 47 tackles with two sacks and 12 quarterback hurries.

Tusculum College also made a sweep through the area and signed Westside receivers Matt Levine, Anthony McCoppin and Zay Smith, and Seneca defensive lineman Devin Gaines and defensive back Austin Hunter.

Levine was Westside’s leading receiver, and caught 52 passes for 732 yards and seven TDs.

McCoppin made 28 catches for 530 yards and five TDs. Smith made 33 catches for 143 yards and two TDs, and rushed for 469 yards and four TDs on 104 carries.

Shrine Bowl offensive lineman Matthew Ashley of Belton-Honea Path signed with Coastal Carolina after he had 63 knockdown blocks and a 91 percent blocking grade last season.

B-HP teammate Nino Woolridge, who played several positions for the Bears, signed with Gardner-Webb after he had 1,135 all-purpose yards and 16 TDs.

At T.L. Hanna, defensive lineman Calvin Lee signed with North Greenville. Lee had 58 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, and five sacks last season.

Linebacker Jake Nicolopulos, who suffered a stroke in December, signed with Clemson at Shephard’s Center in Atlanta where he is rehabilitating. Principal Sheila Hilton recognized Nicolopulos at a ceremony in the school’s lecture hall.

Dent Wise, a midfielder who made the Region 1-AAAA and all-state teams last year, signed with Coastal Carolina. Cauley Simmons, the Region 1-AAAA volleyball player of the year and an all-state selection, signed with Southern Wesleyan. Mariana Anderson, a defender, four-year starter, and all-Region 1-AAAA selection, signed with Presbyterian College. Goalkeeper Kaitlyn Neipp, who was second in the state last year with a 0.64 goals-against average. She helped Hanna allow a school-record 14 goals last season. She signed with Anderson University.

USC-Sumter signed Savannah Carpenter to play softball.

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