Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 13-20@ James Madison | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 3 tackles |
| Wk 2 | W 24-23vs Gardner-Webb | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 5 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
#5
Elijah Hopkins
Senior cornerback on Liberty's 2026 roster.
5′10″ · 195 lb · Ocala, FL · Vanguard HS
Returning to Liberty for 2026
Recruiting
3★
ATH recruit
No. 1511 nationally · Signed with Coastal Carolina
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
4 cornerback on Liberty's 2026 roster.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to Coastal Carolina in 2022.
Elijah Hopkins
Elijah Hopkins has played for two head coaches across five seasons and two programs. The receipt on tape: 3 tackles against James Madison, Week 1, 2026.
5 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- head-coach lineage
- game log
His career
20223 games
- Signed with Coastal Carolina3-star out of Vanguard
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
2 teams
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Coaching lineage · 2022–2026
2 coaches2022
Liberty
Coaching transition mid-career: Hugh Freeze → Jamey Chadwell. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2022Coastal Carolina9-4HC: Chad Staggs · Run-leaning
2023Liberty13-1HC: Jamey Chadwell · Run-heavy
2024Liberty8-4HC: Jamey Chadwell · Run-heavy
2025Liberty4-8HC: Jamey Chadwell · Run-heavy
2026Liberty1-1HC: Jamey Chadwell · Run-heavy
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Concern: tackles (0th percentile).
Box-score production (6)
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Splits & context
Splits
Per-game splits
Through 2 games: 2.5 TKL/g, 0.0 TFL/g, 0.0 SACK/g, 0.0 PD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Jamey Chadwell
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
Backup
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Liberty | 5 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2025 | Liberty | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2024 | Liberty | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2023 | Liberty | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2022 | Coastal Carolina | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 14 | 11 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2026
W 24–23
vs Gardner-Webb
2 TOT · 2 SOLO
A wire-to-wire battle — won by 1 at home.
With S. Crossan — 44 AVG · 1 IN 20 · 49 LONG · M. Jackson — 2 rec · 69 yds · 1 TD
Game log
How he plays
2026 Outlook
Liberty
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Cornerback · Liberty
Returning around him
- Transfer portal: +6 net (26 in / 20 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Liberty · Last season: 4-8 · Talent rank #79 · 2026 recruiting class #109
Background
2024 (R-So.): Saw playing time in four games Finished the season with one solo tackle PFF.com snap count: 41 (7 – defense; 31 – special team) Recorded a solo stop against Sam Houston during Liberty’s regular season finale 2023 (R-Fr.): Saw playing time in nine games Finished the season with two s...
The secondary · Liberty
- #13Jeremiah Vessel54 tackles · 2025
- D-Icey Hopkins51 tackles · 2025
- #3Ashton Whitner38 tackles · 2025
- #17Jayden Davis10 tackles · 2025
- #5Elijah Hopkins5 tackles · 2025
15 more on the roster · Liberty team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology