North Carolina EDGE announces transfer to SEC school
North Carolina EDGE Tyrone Hopper announced on Twitter Monday that he will be transferring to Missouri to finish out his collegiate career in the SEC. Hopper, who redshirted once, received an extra year due to the COVID-19 blanket waiver and received another year back due to injuries, will be entering his seventh year of college at Missouri.
Hopper came into North Carolina in 2016, only to redshirt his first year on campus. In 2017, a redshirt freshman, Hopper appeared in nine games at defensive end and finished with eight tackles, a sack and a forced fumble. His playing time remained somewhat limited in 2018 and 2019; he appeared in six games in 2018, playing both on the defensive line and special teams, and finished with 10 tackles and half a tackle for loss. Hopper started once in 2019 while appearing in 12 games, tallying 16 tackles, three quarterback hurries and 1.5 sacks.
Had Hopper not received an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-190 blanket waiver, the 2020 season would have been his last in college. He appeared in all 12 of North Carolina’s games that year, starting 10 at outside linebacker, and put up his most productive season yet: Hopper had 27 tackles and seven quarterback hurries, the latter of which led all North Carolina players, and added two sacks, two tackles for loss and two pass breakups.
Hopper played in just one game in the 2021 season, notching two sacks against Virginia Tech, as he suffered a season-ending upper body injury, granting him another year of eligibility. He finished his North Carolina playing career with 61 tackles, five tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, three pass breakups and one forced fumble.
Listed at 6-foot-4, 245 pounds, Hopper played both defensive end and outside linebacker at North Carolina, but his Missouri commitment graphic labels him as a defensive end.
Hopper is a native of Roswell, Georgia, and he committed to North Carolina out of high school as a three-star recruit according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. His three-star status made him the No. 47 EDGE in the 2016 recruiting class, as well as the No. 57 overall recruit in the state of Georgia.