Dustin Hopkins
Age: 34
Dustin Hopkins (born October 1, 1990) is an American football kicker for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). He was born in Austin, Texas but raised in Houston, Texas, where he attended Clear Lake High School.
College career
Hopkins was recruited by Florida State when then Seminoles special teams coordinator Jody Allen watched high school game film of Hopkins' kickoffs. Interest was also shown by Notre Dame.
As a freshman in 2009, Hopkins had one of the best seasons of any first-year kicker in the country. He hit 19 of 27 field goals, or approximately 70%, over the course of 2009. He was also accurate on his PAT attempts, booting 40 of 44. On November 13, 2010, against Clemson, Florida State, who was trailing the entire game, made a comeback in the 4th quarter. With less than a minute left in regulation, tied at 13, Florida State marched down into Clemson territory, where, with 3 seconds left, Hopkins made a 55 yard field goal to win the game. This was an important ACC victory for the Seminoles.
In 2011, while playing against Wake Forest, Hopkins kicked his 109th point after try (PAT) in a row, breaking the previous FSU record. He would not miss a PAT until September 8, 2012, leaving him at 145 successful attempts, the sixth longest streak in NCAA history.
On November 18, 2012, Hopkins set the NCAA Division I FBS record for career points scored by a kicker at 442 points with a 26 yard field goal in the second quarter versus the Maryland Terrapins. Hopkins would finish the day with six more points upping the record to 448 points.
Professional career
NFL Draft
Hopkins was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the sixth round (177th overall) of the 2013 NFL Draft, joining punter Shawn Powell and quarterback EJ Manuel, his former teammates at Florida State.
Buffalo Bills
On May 10, 2013, Hopkins signed a four year contract with the Buffalo Bills.
On August 19, 2013, Hopkins was named the Buffalo Bills starting placekicker over veteran placekicker, Rian Lindell. On September 2, 2013, Hopkins was revealed to have sustained a groin injury. This prompted the Bills to sign Dan Carpenter. Due to a slow recovery from that injury and the need to further open roster spots, Hopkins was placed on the injured reserve list after Week 5.
Hopkins was given a chance to earn back his roster spot during the 2014 season, but lost the competition to Carpenter; the Bills released Hopkins on August 25, 2014.
New Orleans Saints
Hopkins was signed to the New Orleans Saints practice squad on December 17, 2014. He was then signed to a future/reserve contract at the end of the 2014 season and competed for placekicking duties with Shayne Graham.
On September 5, 2015, the Saints announced they had released Hopkins after losing the competition to Zach Hocker.
Washington Redskins
Hopkins was signed by the Washington Redskins on September 14, 2015, after they had released Kai Forbath.
On October 18, 2015, Hopkins kicked a career-long 54-yard field goal against the New York Jets.
On November 15, 2015, Hopkins kicked a career-high 4 field goals against the New Orleans Saints.