By Steve Ellis
DEMOCRAT SENIOR WRITER
LAKE BUENA VISTA — Dustin Hopkins knew what he would find inside the letter with the Tallahassee postmark.
Although he had no previous contact with Florida State's football coaches and no ties to the program, the kicker from the Houston suburb Clear Lake told his parents a scholarship offer from the Seminoles was inside.
Hopkins, who had offers from Notre Dame and Baylor among others, was right.
"We felt it was something we needed to check into. We went out of respect to Coach (Bobby) Bowden and the history and prestige that goes along with that," said Hopkins' father, Jim. "Everything about that school impressed us.
"And the whole (football) program. I think they are on their way back, I really do."
His son agreed and is now poised to put his signature on a letter of intent with FSU next month. In the fall he'll attempt to fill the huge void left by Lou Groza Award winner Graham Gano, also the MVP of the Champs Sports Bowl.
But before all of that, he should get a chance to show a national television audience why he's the No. 1 rated kicker in the country by Rivals and ESPN. Hopkins is one of four FSU commitments participating in today's Under Armour All-America Bowl shown on ESPN at 8 p.m.
Hopkins committed to FSU in June. He has since attended FSU home games against Chattanooga and Florida — the later being his official visit.
During the recruiting process he has built a friendship with Gano. As with Gano, Hopkins has a strong leg and can punt in addition to handling all kicking duties. But Hopkins said he'll leave the punting to Shawn Powell.
"I think I can make an impact when I first go in," said Hopkins, who played soccer before concentrating on his kicking duties in football. "I've got some big shoes to fill but I'll do my best.
"I talked to Graham (on Thursday) and he was saying what a great opportunity I have."
Hopkins' longest field goal this past season was 49 yards. He missed three field goals — a 58-yarder left, a 64-yard attempt that he said fell 1½ yards short and a "makeable" 38-yard attempt.
Hopkins, by age and distance, is removed from any association with the wide lefts and wide rights of FSU kicking lore. The 18-year old was an infant when Gerry Thomas put "wide right" in the college football vernacular. The first FSU kicker he paid attention to was Sebastian Janikowski.
"It's out there — everybody says something you are either crazy or really confident going to FSU," Hopkins said of the wide-something misses against Miami. "I haven't seen the videos.
"When we win the national championship, I won't even have that picture in my mind. I'll just picture the ball going through the uprights. I'll only watch (the legendary misses against Miami) that after I graduate."
As was the case with fellow Texas native Christian Ponder, Hopkins expects to have a head start on his academics when he enrolls. His father said he'll have enough college credit hours to be a sophomore academically before he begins his career as a Seminole. But unlike Ponder, who enrolled at FSU in January of 2006, Hopkins plans to enjoy his final semester of his senior year in high school before arriving in the summer.
Hopkins, who boasts a 4.27 GPA, plans to major in business marketing with a minor in broadcast journalism and would like to complete his master's degree while on football scholarship.
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