The competition for playing time in UConn’s backfield has one less contestant as running back Nate Hopkins has departed from the UConn football team. The news was first reported by the Journal Inquirer’s Neill Ostrout.
Hopkins came to UConn out of Flower Mound, Texas as part of the 2016 recruiting classs, choosing Bob Diaco’s (then on-the-rise) Huskies over offers from Boise State, Illinois, Navy, and Army. In Hopkins’ redshirt year, UConn floundered as Diaco lost control of the team and eventually lost his job.
Despite the coaching turnover, Hopkins saw decent time in Randy Edsall’s first year, getting a steady stream of carries across the season as he finished with 343 rushing yards and seven touchdowns.