Brent Hoppe is trying to live every Wisconsin kid's dream by receiving a scholarship from the Badgers.
Hoppe, who currently lists offers from Air Force, Army, Central Michigan, Illinois State, Miami (OH), South Dakota and Wyoming, among others, visited this spring and plans to camp at UW next week. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound outside linebacker from Beloit (WI) Turner has been in contact with assistant coaches Chris Hearing and Bobby April.
“I’ve been talking to Coach Hearing. He's came to my school quite a few times and I've built a pretty good relationship with him, along with Coach April,” Hoppe told BadgerBlitz.com. “They came to school for the first time about four months ago. They came to school one day and I was obviously excited. Hearing that Wisconsin is coming to school is a pretty big thing for me.”
Hoppe is scheduled to attend Wisconsin's camp next Monday with the hopes of showcasing that he's deserving of a scholarship. After going from his playing weight of 205 pounds last season to his current weight of 235, Hoppe is confident he will impress the coaches with his added strength and versatility.
“I’m going to camp on Monday," Hoppe said. "I think I just need to get in front of them and play ball. I’m in my best on the field, and I was also a late bloomer lifting, honestly. I definitely caught up recently and I’ve gained a lot of size. I played at around 205 last season, and now I’m around 230-235, and I’ve been getting bigger, faster, stronger.
"I’m very confident that I will impress some coaches at the camp coming up on Monday. I bring a lot of diversity with the positions I can play. My specialty is edge rushing, but I’m not just an edge rusher. I can play any of the linebacker positions, defensive tackle and defensive end. Whatever they need, I just love playing football, so I’ll go out there and get after it.”
If the Badgers were to offer him a scholarship, Hoppe said they would stack up high on his list due to his hometown roots and love for Wisconsin football as a kid.
“Hometown kid, I love Wisconsin, everything there is very impressive,” Hoppe said. “Wisconsin would be pretty high - I feel like that has to be one of the favorites. Especially living in Wisconsin my whole life, I've always watched the Badgers on Saturdays. That would be an amazing opportunity and they would definitely rank pretty high.”
Central Michigan is also scheduled to host Hoppe, who had 44 tackles for loss, 14.0 sacks and four forced fumbles last season, on an official visit the weekend of June 17.
“I have an official visit scheduled for Central Michigan coming up towards the middle of June. I like them a lot,” Hoppe said. “That is one of the colleges I’ve had the best connections with the coaches and very impressed with the facilities.”
The Badgers currently have six commitments in the 2023 class.
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