MontrealAlouettes.com
SHERBROOKE – As far as comebacks go, defensive tackle Moton Hopkins is determined to make his tough to top.
Now back with the Alouettes and competing for a spot at training camp, it was just over a year ago that Hopkins developed a blood clot in his lung which forced him to miss the entire 2012 CFL season.
“It all happened a couple of weeks before I was expected to report to last year’s camp,” remembered Hopkins. “I kept having this sharp pain and I couldn’t understand why. I kept thinking that I was young and active, so I couldn’t imagine how my health could’ve ever been in jeopardy. It hurt when I had to retire from the game that I love, especially while feeling that I still had so much left to give.”
Luckily for the former Golden Hurricane from the University of Tulsa, he was able to count on not just the support of his family and friends but also of his employer throughout his entire rehabilitation process.
“Jim Popp and the Alouettes organization stayed in constant communication with me throughout the entire process,” admitted Hopkins. “That was extremely comforting. From that point I knew I wasn’t just a number to them, but rather a person for whom they care for.”
Hopkins, who broke into the CFL with Winnipeg in 2010, joined Montreal as a free agent in April 2011. He dressed for 10 games in his first season with the team, including five starts, recording 17 defensive tackles and four quarterback sacks. He also recovered and forced a fumble.
Now that the 26-year-old has been medically cleared to resume his football career, he doesn’t believe his development as a player has taken a step back despite a year away from the field.
“Three months removed from my successful surgery I immediately resumed exercising, steadily increasing my workload as I tried to get back to full strength,” explained the 6-foot-2, 277-pounder. “There’s always work to put in, but I feel just as good as I did when I was still chasing down quarterbacks with Montreal in 2011.”
The Alouettes defensive line was missing Hopkins last year and it showed, having spent most of the 2012 season with a rotation of players at defensive tackle. But with a new scheme in place now as the defensive unit makes the transition from a 3-4 defence to a 4-3 one, Hopkins’ frame and style of play will help him fit right back in.
“It was a huge relief that the team wanted to bring me back,” revealed Hopkins, who spent parts of the off-season working as a substitute high-school teacher in Texas. “Honestly, a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. I missed it. Now I’m just living the dream as they say.”
Now in his second year in Montreal, Hopkins efforts are just as noticeable off the field and in the community where he spends much of his time trying to give back, already reunited with the Friendship Circle of Montreal, an organization whose mandate is to create awareness for children with special needs and provide assistance and support to their families.
He’s also involved with the 34 Foundation, a non-profit which aims to provide high school students in the Schertz, Cibolo, Universal City, and San Antonio, Texas metro areas access to higher education opportunities. The 34 Foundation works with local school districts to provide scholarships for students that might not have the opportunity to otherwise pursue higher education.
