Catching lessons: WR Hopkins working on degree

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee Titans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins is going back to school virtually to get his degree in parks, recreation and tourism management from Clemson.

Hopkins made a promise to his mother, Sabrina Greenlee, that he would get his degree. Hopkins said not many people in his family have a college degree so it was important for him to do so. His father died in a car accident when Hopkins was 6 months old.

“I kinda vowed that I would make both of them proud and graduate, and that was something that I promised my mom that I would do knowing that my father would want me to graduate college,” Hopkins said on Friday.

One of Hopkins’ classmates shared a screen record of their virtual class on social media showing Hopkins walking through the Titans locker room.

Hopkins said he’s always been interested in facility management, specifically putting on music festivals after growing up listening to country music.

“That was my interest in going into that degree, learning how to manage and facilitate things of that nature,” Hopkins said.

Hopkins and his mother manage S.M.O.O.O.T.H. (Speaking. Mentally. Outwardly. Opening. Opportunities. Toward. Healing.), a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering women who have been impacted by domestic violence. His mother, who is blind, is a survivor of domestic abuse.

The 11th-year veteran is playing his first season with the Titans. Hopkins has 11 receptions for 105 yards in two games this season.

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