[1] A walk-on for the Southern Methodist football team, he was first noticed by coaches and teammates during a team practice after he made a ferocious tackle on his college teammate and future Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson.
In 1985, he had a career-high 6 interceptions (including one for a touchdown) was voted Most Valuable Player on the Eagles defense and was selected to the Pro Bowl.
With Buddy Ryan as head coach from 1986 to 1990, the tandem were considered one of the hardest hitting and most feared safety duos in the NFL.
Hopkins retired after the 1993 season and finished his career with 30 interceptions, 12 sacks and 1 touchdown.
Former teammate Harvey Armstrong said he is fairly certain that Hopkins was suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease that has been found in more than 100 former NFL players whose families donated their brains for research.