On Monday, Minnesota picked up their latest commitment in their 2026 recruiting class, three-star cornerback Justin Hopkins.

The Tennessee native is the fourth commitment in the Gophers' recruiting class and their first commitment since the summer when now decommitted and 2025 North Carolina signee Kennedy Uzoma committed to the program in July.

He joins a class that currently consists of three-star quarterback Owen Lansu, defensive end Howie Johnson, and offensive lineman Andrew Trout.

This was a very impressive recruiting win for Minnesota's head coach and cornerbacks coach Nick Monroe. Hopkins is a highly-touted prospect overall out of a recruiting rich region and had the offer sheet to go with it.

Not only did the Gophers beat out the likes of in-state Tennessee, as well as regional program Georgia Tech and of course, USC. But Hopkins also held offers in his recruitment from Auburn, Duke, Indiana, Iowa, Louisville, Michigan State, Missouri, Ole Miss, TCU, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, and West Virginia.

Notably, Tennessee was very high on Hopkins and hosted the in-state prospect numerous times during his recruitment, making it a particulary impresive recruiting win over the Volunteers.

Minnesota wasn't the first program to offer Hopkins, and they really weren't even that early in his recruitment overall either. Overall, 15 programs including numerous Power Five programs had all offered Hopkins as early as June of 2023; programs that all offered earlier in his recruitment include Purdue, Iowa, Ole Miss, Maryland, Indiana, Auburn, Tennessee, Vanderbilt.

The Gophers were able to get their eyes on Hopkins for the first time last spring on May 30 at the Wayne State Mega Camp in Detroit, Michigan where Nick Monroe extended an offer to Hopkins.

The Gophers and Nick Monroe were able to build a strong relationship with Hopkins over the ensuing months, getting him on campus in November for a gameday visit and then making two separate trips to Nashville last month to see the three-star prospect and his family.

The state of Tennessee is not a state in which the Golden Gophers have historically dipped often. Not just in the P.J. Fleck era but in the modern recruiting era in general. According to the Rivals database, Hopkins is just the third player from Tennessee since Rivals' inception to sign ith the Golden Gophers joining 2020 tight end Austin Henderson and 2013 defensive tackle Demaris Peppers.

Notably, while Peppers was from the Memphis area, Henderson was also a native of Nashivlle like Hopkins, and also attended Ensworth Hgh School. Neither Henderson nor Peppers would go on to have impactful careers with the Golden Gophers. Peppers appeared in one game with the program before transferring to Jackson State while Henderson would appear in one game as a true freshman before transferring following the 2021 season to Liberty.

Henderson just wrapped up his third season with the Flames and has recorded 17 receptions for 157 yards and four touchdowns in his career.

Nick Monroe is entering his third year with the program and so far has had impressive success on the recruiting trail. In his first cycle (2024) with the Gophers, Monroe landed a trio of cornerbacks in Mike Gerald (Morton Ranch - Texas), Samuel Madu (Archbishop Stepanic - NY), and Simon Seidl (Hill Murray - MN).

As part of the 2025 recruiting class, Monroe contributed to the class with commitments from highly productive New Jersey cornerback Naaim Parrish as well as Georgia cornerback Zachry Harden who was receiving heavy interest from SEC programs this past fall while committed to the Gophers.

Now, he adds Hopkins to the mix as well, who could very well be the best of the bunch during Monroe's short tenure so far with the Golden Gophers.

That's not to mention Monroe bringing in numerous transfer portal cornerbacks during his time with the program including Ethan Robinson and Tre'von Jones, both who were productive in their lone seasons with the program.

No matter where he lines up for Ensworth High School, Hopkins is a dynamic playmaker who is a thrill to watch on tape. A tremendous athlete with a knack for being able to make game changing plays routinely, Hopkins shows that ability to impact all three factes of the game for Ensworth.

On special teams, Hopkins is a threat to return any kickoff or punt for a touchdown. At wide receiver, he shows the needed athleticism, agility, and ball skills to be a consistent and dangerous receiving threat.

Finally, defensively, he has great play recognition skills, a thorough understanding of opposing offenses and how they are looking to attack coverages, and most importantly, the ball skills that allow him to break up passes or come down with interceptions on a routine basis. He's also a hard-hitting defender, who loves to set the tone with physical hits that will leave opposing wide receivers wary of the next time the ball is coming their way.

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