Charlie Hopkins enters his second year at The Citadel in 2018 in coaching the Bulldogs’ offensive tackles.
In his first season with the Bulldogs, Hopkins had the challenge of grooming two young tackles in sophomore Drew McIntyre and redshirt freshman Prince-Howard Whitaker. The duo started all 11 games for the Bulldogs, with freshmen accounting for more than half the starts on the offensive line.
The Citadel averaged 294.6 yards per game on the ground in 2017 with the offense putting together its best month of the season in October, rushing for over 400 yards in back-to-back wins against Chattanooga and VMI, followed by a near 400-yard effort against Western Carolina.
Hopkins comes to The Citadel from William Penn, where he served as the Statesmen’s offensive coordinator and offensive line coach in 2016. Prior to his stop at William Penn, Hopkins was the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Shorter University in Rome, Georgia, in 2015. There, he helped direct a Hawks offense that led the Gulf South Conference in rushing yards and yards per carry in addition to ranking seventh in Division II in rushing yards per game. He coached two All-Gulf South Conference performers and a nominee for the Harlon Hill Trophy presented to the most valuable player in Division II.
Hopkins was the offensive line coach and special teams assistant at Missouri Southern State in 2014 and held the same position at Brevard College for the 2013 season. At Missouri Southern State, he helped the Lions rank first in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association in rushing touchdowns and rushing yards, totals that ranked ninth and 11th, respectively, in Division II. The Brevard offense ranked 12th nationally in rushing while the kickoff return team ranked first in the South Atlantic Conference in average yards per return.
His first collegiate coaching job came at Hamline University, where he was the program’s assistant offensive coordinator, offensive line coach, recruiting coordinator and video coordinator for the 2011 and 2012 seasons. There, he helped increase the Pipers’ average rushing yards per game by more than 100 yards and coached two all-conference offensive linemen. In addition to his duties on the field, he also oversaw all recruiting, including campus visits and off-campus recruiting trips, and arranged video staff for practice and game days.
Hopkins began his coaching career in 2009 as the head varsity offensive line coach at Elbert County Comprehensive High School in Elberton, Georgia. There, he coached four all-region offensive lineman, helped the Blue Devils win the 2010 region championship and was part of the two-time 8AA coaching staff of the year.
Hopkins was a four-year letterman at Georgia Southern, where he helped pave the way for Division I-AA’s top-ranked rushing offense each year. The Eagles won three Southern Conference championships during his time in Statesboro, and he also was a member of Georgia Southern’s first Division II college south championship rugby team.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in video production/broadcasting from Georgia Southern in 2006 and earned the football team’s Scholar-Athlete Award.
