DeAndre Hopkins

Hopkins was raised in South Carolina alongside his three siblings by his mother, Sabrina Greenlee, after his father died in a car crash during his infancy. In July 2002, Greenlee survived a violent attack when a woman threw a boiling mixture of lye and bleach at her face, which left her completely blind. In tribute to her resilience and to share his achievements with her, Hopkins created an on-field tradition of locating her in the stadium stands to hand her the football after scoring touchdowns.

His uncle, the late Terry Smith, played wide receiver for Clemson in the early 1990s. Hopkins is a practicing Christian who grew up attending church with his mother and was baptized following a Clemson practice in 2012.

Off the field, Hopkins founded the SMOOOTH Foundation, an acronym for "Speaking Mentally Outwardly Opening Opportunities Towards Healing." Through the organization, he hosts annual back-to-school drives that provide backpacks and classroom supplies for thousands of children. In 2021, he introduced a charity cereal brand called DeAndre's Hop Box to support domestic violence survivors. He also partnered with Beyond Meat in 2020 on the Feed A Million+ campaign to distribute plant-based meals to people in need, and wore the name of 1822 civil rights figure Denmark Vesey on his helmet to highlight South Carolina history.

Hopkins attended D. W. Daniel High School in Central, South Carolina, where he competed in football, basketball, and track and field. On the gridiron, he starred on both offense and defense, posting 57 receptions for 1,266 yards and 18 touchdowns alongside 28 defensive interceptions. On the basketball court, he played point guard and shooting guard, scoring over 1,400 points and leading the team to a South Carolina Class AAA state title in 2010.

He enrolled at Clemson University, playing wide receiver under head coach Dabo Swinney from 2010 to 2012. As a freshman, Hopkins led the Tigers in receiving with 52 receptions for 637 yards and four touchdowns. He also briefly played in seven games for Clemson's varsity basketball team during the 2010-11 season.

In his 2012 junior campaign, Hopkins combined with quarterback Tajh Boyd and fellow receiver Sammy Watkins to form one of the nation's most explosive passing attacks. Hopkins caught 82 passes for an Atlantic Coast Conference leading 1,405 yards and a school-record 18 touchdowns, helping Clemson achieve an 11-2 record capped by a victory over LSU in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. He departed Clemson holding school career records for receiving yards with 3,020 and touchdown catches with 27.

The Houston Texans drafted Hopkins with the 27th overall pick in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He became an immediate contributor opposite veteran Andre Johnson, logging 52 receptions for 802 yards to earn a spot on the PFWA All-Rookie Team. By 2014, Hopkins took over as Houston's leading receiver, gaining 1,210 yards on 76 catches.

Following Johnson's departure, Hopkins blossomed into an elite primary receiver. In 2015, despite catching passes from four different starting quarterbacks, he compiled 111 catches for 1,521 yards and 11 touchdowns, earning his first Pro Bowl selection and second-team All-Pro honors. In August 2017, the Texans signed him to a five-year contract extension.

Hopkins delivered his most dominant stretch between 2017 and 2019, earning three consecutive First-team All-Pro selections. In 2017, he led the NFL with 13 receiving touchdowns, becoming the first player in Texans history to lead the league in that category. In 2018, he posted career highs with 115 receptions and 1,572 receiving yards while helping Houston capture the AFC South title. Across seven seasons in Houston, he established franchise single-season records for receptions and receiving touchdowns.

In March 2020, Houston traded Hopkins to the Arizona Cardinals. In his first season in Arizona, he set a franchise record with 115 receptions for 1,407 yards and earned his fifth Pro Bowl selection. His season was highlighted by the "Hail Murray" play in Week 10 against the Buffalo Bills, where he caught a 43-yard game-winning Hail Mary pass from Kyler Murray over three defenders with one second remaining. That year, he became the youngest player in NFL history to reach 700 career receptions and 10,000 career receiving yards.

Injuries and a six-game suspension shortened his 2021 and 2022 campaigns with Arizona, leading to his release in May 2023. Hopkins signed with the Tennessee Titans for the 2023 season, recording 75 catches for 1,057 yards and seven touchdowns. In October 2024, Tennessee traded Hopkins to the Kansas City Chiefs. He contributed to the Chiefs' postseason run to Super Bowl LIX, where he scored both a touchdown and a two-point conversion against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Hopkins signed a one-year deal with the Baltimore Ravens in March 2025, catching 22 passes for 330 yards and two touchdowns. After concluding his playing career, he spent time observing the New England Patriots coaching staff under Mike Vrabel before being hired by Georgia Tech in July 2026 as an assistant wide receivers coach.