UW Preferred Walk-On from O'Dea Follows Gaskin's Example
When Milton Hopkins Jr. was a junior at O'Dea High School in Seattle, Myles Gaskin returned to his alma mater to address an assembly.
Gaskin was the former University of Washington running back and the Huskies' all-time leading rusher now playing pro football.
Hopkins recently became a Husky preferred walk-on.
To a packed gymnasium, Gaskin spoke about his journey to the NFL.
"He talked about how he didn't start out being a serious student," Hopkins recalled.
While Gaskin's words echoed through the gym, they resonated with the future Husky commit. As Hopkins sat there with the other students, he felt like Gaskin was speaking directly to him.
"I remember him talking about how once he was able to get rid of distractions in his life and focus on academics, he felt like he had a better handle of his future," Hopkins said, calling that a key moment for him.
Growing up, the 6-foot-5, 220-pound Hopkins was one of the bigger kids around. Others looked up to him athletically, but not academically.
Following Gaskin's speech, he looked in the mirror, and at his report card, and decided changes were in order.
"Myles Gaskin's path is very similar to my own," Hopkins said. "At that point, I made the decision that I would get rid of distractions. I felt like he was speaking to me."
As a junior quarterback, Hopkins was a silent leader, someone who led by example. He helped guide the Irish to a state championship game against Eastside Catholic.
"We beat Eastside earlier in the season, but it's hard to beat a team twice," Hopkins said.
The Fighting Irish had a chance to win but couldn't finish off the reigning state champions.
"The loss just meant that I had to become a more vocal leader to get back to the state championship game," he said. "Like Myles said, I had to get rid of distractions. And I did."
Once his grades improved, Hopkins felt he had better handle on his future.
That is, until the WIAA pushed back the high school football season to March because of the pandemic.
Undeterred, Hopkins took matters into his own hands.
"I organized a 7-on-7 league," he said. "We had over 50 applications for teams."
Hopkins settled on a 24-team league.
He's making good decisions.
The best one was to sit and listen to Gaskin.