Former Clemson star DeAndre Hopkins hired to ACC football coaching staff

Former Clemson star DeAndre Hopkins is taking a coaching job.

Hopkins will join Georgia Tech as an assistant wide receivers coach, the program announced late Friday. CBS Sports and On3 Sports reported earlier Friday that the ACC school was targeting Hopkins for the role.

Hopkins, 34, said in a Saturday morning post on X that he isn’t retiring from the NFL.

“I haven’t retired from the (NFL) … but if you’re a WR and you want to be great, come to (Georgia Tech),” Hopkins wrote.

Although it’s a bit surprising to see Hopkins start his coaching career somewhere other than Clemson, he does have a natural connection on GT’s staff. George Godsey, the team’s new offensive coordinator, was Hopkins’ OC with the Houston Texans.

Hopkins played his 13th NFL season with the Baltimore Ravens last fall. Godsey was also on Baltimore’s staff in 2025 before joining Georgia Tech in January.

Hopkins said in a June radio interview with Sirius XM that he has “a lot of ball left” but wasn’t in a rush to sign with a team or be a “regular-season hero.”

Those comments, along with his post on X, indicate Hopkins could try to stay in playing shape while coaching with Georgia Tech and position himself to sign with an NFL team (likely a playoff/Super Bowl contender) late in the regular season.

But he’s shown signs of pivoting to coaching. Hopkins, currently an NFL free agent, worked with the Patriots in an informal coaching role last week. He also spent time at Georgia Tech’s facilities in Atlanta in recent days, per CBS Sports.

Hopkins played at Clemson under coach Dabo Swinney from 2010-12 and remains one of the program’s all-time greats. His 27 touchdown catches are tied for the most in Clemson history, and he’s No. 2 in career receiving yards (3,020) and No. 4 in career receptions (206). He caught an ACC-record 18 touchdowns in 2012.

At the NFL level, Hopkins is a five-time Pro Bowl selection and three-time All-Pro selection. He’s played for the Texans, Cardinals, Titans, Chiefs and Ravens. He currently ranks No. 17 in NFL history in career receptions (1,006) and No. 18 in career receiving yards (13,295) and is considered a potential Hall of Famer.

As an assistant wide receivers coach at GT, Hopkins would likely work in a support role for Godsey and the team’s primary wide receivers coach, Jafar Williams.

As things currently stand, Hopkins will make a return to his alma mater as an opposing coach this fall. Clemson football is scheduled to host Georgia Tech in an ACC game on Saturday, Nov. 14 at Memorial Stadium.

“DeAndre is one of the greatest receivers of all-time, but his value to our program goes far beyond the that,” Georgia Tech coach Brent Key said in a news release.

Key said Hopkins has an “exceptional knowledge” of the team’s offensive system because of his previous working relationship with Godsey.

“Most importantly, he’s a leader of men that I’m very excited for our players to be around, on and off the field,” Key said.

This story was originally published July 31, 2026 at 6:02 PM with the headline “Former Clemson star DeAndre Hopkins hired to ACC football coaching staff.”