DRC..from Germany to 7 OT's..Hopovac article

OldTimer · October 19, 2006

From Germany to seven overtimes

UNT kicker's journey has been strange

11:49 PM CDT on Wednesday, October 18, 2006

By Brett Vito/Staff Writer

When Denis Hopovac arrived in Texas a little less than six years ago, he had all sorts of dreams about the opportunities living in American would provide.

They just never included anything as wild as what the German native experienced Oct. 7 in a game against Florida International. Hopovac went head-to-head with Dustin Rivest in a showdown of kickers and eventually won when he connected on a 34-yard field goal in the seventh overtime to give UNT a 25-22 win.

The contest that tied for the longest overtime game in NCAA history was almost as unusual as the journey Hopovac followed to become a Division I-A kicker.

“I saw maybe one NFL Europe game growing up in Germany,” Hopovac said. “I knew what American football was, but didn’t know how it was played. To this day I still don’t know some of the terminology, but I know my job and what I need to do to get it done.”

Hopovac landed his job at UNT after a long journey that took him from Germany to Dallas to Denton. Along the way, he capitalized on the opportunities living in America provides. He recently became a U.S. citizen after 5 1/2 years of wading through paperwork, classes and tests required for an honor nearly all of his teammates received at birth. He has also earned his degree in international studies at UNT and is on the verge of finishing a second in economics.

Hopovac was always interested in the educational opportunities living in the U.S. would provide while growing up in Germany. It’s a dream his family shared and decided to pursue.

On Oct. 26, 2000, the Hopovacs arrived in Dallas and Denis enrolled at W.T. White.

Hopovac joined the soccer team and became the football team’s kicker after Kent Ackmann, W.T. White’s soccer coach at the time, told Hopovac he might thrive on the football field.

“I never imagined kicking a football,” Hopovac said. “I had seen rugby. Kicking a rugby ball is kind of close to kicking a football. It’s strange the way my career has progressed. Coach Ackmann coached me and believed in me. I will never forget that.”

Hopovac developed into a solid high school kicker, but didn’t attract the attention of many college programs. He decided his best chance to continue his football career was to walk on at UNT.

“When we first took him as a walk-on we knew he played soccer and came from Germany, but that was about it,” UNT assistant head coach Kenny Evans said. “We never knew he would be our kicker at that point. He is a good kid, a good person and a good student, which is the type of kid we want in our program.”

For the first three years of his career, Hopovac played a small role behind Nick Bazaldua, the leading scorer in UNT football history. Bazaldua was extremely accurate while kicking field goals, but didn’t have the strongest leg when it came to kickoffs.

Hopovac proved to be the perfect kickoff specialist to complement Bazaldua, one of his closest friends on the team. Hopovac kicked off in the final three games of the 2003 season, the final eight games of the 2004 season and all 11 games in 2005.

Bazaldua graduated in 2005, leaving Hopovac and highly touted freshman Steven Woodward to battle for the starting job. Hopovac’s work ethic helped him earn the job and a scholarship while allowing Woodward a chance to spend his first year at UNT as a redshirt freshman.

“The difference between Denis and some kickers is that Denis works hard,” Evans said. “He works on conditioning, in the weight room and does all the training in the offseason that all the other players do. He doesn’t set himself apart. He tries to be one of the guys. That’s the reason they all like him.”

Hopovac credited former UNT tight ends Randy Gardner, Jeff Muenchow, Rusty Beck and Matt Bradshaw for making him feel welcome when he first arrived in Denton.

Hopovac has felt like just another one of the guys since.

UNT’s players often chant “USA, USA, USA” when Hopovac kicks field goals in practice, a habit they picked up after Dickey announced that Hopovac had become an American citizen after practice during two-a-days in August.

“We came in together as recruits and grew up here,” UNT linebacker Phillip Graves said. “I like picking on kickers and Hop sets up the younger guys for me. He’s a fun guy to have around.”

The comfort zone Hopovac has found with his teammates turned out to be critical when he struggled in the overtime periods of UNT’s win over FIU.

Hopovac went 3-for-7 on field goals in extra time and missed what would have been game-winners from 51 and 29 yards. He made up for those misses with a key make from 39 yards in the fifth overtime to extend the game, not to mention the winner two overtimes later.

Hopovac had barely had a chance to adapt to his new role as UNT’s kicker before facing FIU. He had gone 2-for-3 on field goals in the first five games of the season and didn’t even set foot on the field in a game against Middle Tennessee the previous week.

MTSU botched the coin flip and kicked off in both halves of a 35-0 win over the Mean Green.

“Coach [Darrell] Dickey was a big supporter [in the game against FIU],” Hopovac said of UNT’s head coach who had a heart attack last week and turned over the head coaching duties to Evans temporarily. “He didn’t tell me anything in overtime. He is so calm. He just claps and says ‘Go ahead.’ It means a lot to me coming from him and the team. They supported me and told me not to worry about the past.”

Hopovac said he feels more comfortable with his role now that he has gained experience kicking field goals in games and made a game-winner.

After a wild win over FIU, the Mean Green expect Hopovac to kick a few more clutch field goals before he finishes off a career that he never anticipated enjoying before leaving Germany just a few years ago.

“There is nothing like game experience and that is what Denis lacks,” Evans said. “He got a lot with that game going seven overtimes. He will get better the rest of the season.”

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com.