LORMAN, MS (Mississippi News Now) -
No Southwestern Athletic Conference school has ever had a white head football coach, until now. Alcorn State has named former Ole Miss player Jay Hopson to lead the Braves football team.
Hopson, a Vicksburg native, becomes the school's eighteenth head football coach.
"It is an honor and a privilege" said Hopson. "And to quote your Valedictorian, I am proud to be an Alcornite."
Hopson was most recently the defensive coordinator for the Memphis Tigers in 2010 and 2011, but he has no shortage of a Mississippi football background. He was a safety at Ole Miss in the late 80s and early 90s, and has coaching stops at Delta State and Ole Miss, and served as defensive coordinator at Southern Miss from 2005 to 2007.
"This is home to me. I'm from here and I have many friends, as I spoke earlier, that are Alcornites." said Hopson. "It's just something that felt comfortable to me and I prayed about it. And as we went through the negotiation process, it just became more real that this was the place I needed to be. So I'm just glad to be here and glad to be an Alcornite."
"This was the best candidate in the pool" said M. Christopher Brown II, Alcorn President. "The question was simply whether Alcorn has the strength, the tenacity and the courage to move forward with what we knew was the best."
It was a groundbreaking move for Alcorn State, as school officials say Hopson is the first white head football coach in SWAC history.
"It's going to be a 'we process' not a 'me process' added Hopson. "It's something that we will have to unite together to do the things that we want Alcorn to do, to achieve."
Hopson inherits an ASU team that finished 2-8 last year, but he plans on changing that.
"We're going to build a foundation" said Hopson. "We're going to do it the right way, get character kids and get football players in here that have some longevity."
The Braves will open the 2012 season against Grambling State in the Port City Classic on September 1.
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