The last time Hermann (Mo.) High produced a Division-I football player, Jed Leeper was a freshman in high school.

Thirty years later, Leeper is the head coach at his alma mater, leading a Bearcats program that's about to come out of a drought. Missouri signed Class of 2025 defensive end Daeden Hopkins on Wednesday, marking the first Hermann player in Division-I football since Justin Wyatt, who played four season for the Tigers in the 1990s.

"He's such a great young man, too, very humble," Leeper said about Hopkins. "Not an enemy in the world that I'm aware of and walks through these halls just going to work every day."

Leeper took the head coaching position at Hermann ahead of Hopkins' junior season. Hopkins -- who had a growth his sophomore year -- held an obvious advantage over his opponents, but he was still getting used to his new-found length.

It was awkward at first, given he didn't have much weight behind his height like he does now at 6-foot-6, 210 pounds. But going into his junior year his athleticism started to show.

"I make the joke to the coaches and staff that come and visit him he's learning as a program for himself," Leeper said. "He does stuff during practice or during any athletic session, and he's like, 'Wow, I didn't know I could do that.'"

Hopkins put on 10-15 pounds this past summer, as he stopped playing baseball in between school years. He focused on the weight room, and although Hopkins didn't have the season he wanted statistically due to double teams, Leeper saw it as a compliment to the edge's style of play.

"I think he has yet to play his best football," Leeper said. "There's no doubt that he's got so much more to learn about his body, and I think he's going to get bigger ... once they get him honed in on his craft with nutrition and lifting and just doing football stuff with him. He doesn't have a ceiling right now, and that's exciting. I see his best football about two years from now."

Although Hopkins achieved something a Hermann football hadn't in three decades, he doesn't receive any special treatment from his teammates and friends. They've all respected what he's accomplished, but they also grew up with him and see him more than just a Division-I athlete.

"He's given everything he's got, so he's doing his part to ensure that Hermann is where it needs to be, and they're all trying to do that," Leeper said. "He's got a really unique senior class, who are very supportive, and they're all football players. They know their role and understand how talented he is, and they support him. They don't wish that they could be him."

Given the unconventional position Hopkins was in for a Hermann player, he and Leeper reached out to other coaches to know what exactly to discuss with college staffers. For Hopkins, it came down to his love for the position coaches, building relationships with defensive line coach Brian Early and specials team coordinator Erik Link.

Hopkins loved the Tigers' scheme and future at the edge rusher position, albeit Missouri originally recruited him to play tight end.

"Coach Early, the thing that he really likes about me is my speed, my reaction time, just my quickness overall," said Hopkins, who will enroll in the summer. "Obviously running, that helps out with your speed a lot. Your get off, that helps out a lot. Really doing all that stuff with basketball, hand eye coordination, it all really helps with that. That's what the coaches say."

Hopkins, who pledged to Missouri in late April, was considering Iowa State and Kansas State as well. The decision was a tough one, but the proximity to home ended up being one of the biggest factors for keeping him in the state.

"That Sunday, when I talked to him, he was like, 'Coach, that's hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life,'" Leeper laughed. "I said, 'Buddy, I know it's really hard, but thank God that's the hardest thing you've had to do so far.'"

Hopkins was a regular in Columbia this season. He talked with players considering Missouri, but he made it a point of emphasis to never pressure any fellow recruit into joining the Tigers.

In a short window for his recruitment, starting to pick major interest in October 2023, Hopkins still has excitement around the program he pledged to for the next three or more seasons.

"When he makes a big play, he just gets up, and he's ready to do it again," Leeper said. "There's no celebration. There's no Look at me. He's very much a team guy first, and that's what I think is so special about him."

Daeden's father, Lannie Hopkins, played linebacker for Nebraska in the early 2000s, and his mother, Rachel Hopkins, played volleyball for the Cornhuskers, paving way for their son to be a Division-I athlete.

Daeden never announced an offer from his parent's alma mater, and although Lannie and Rachel played college athletics in a different era, they've offered guidance in their son's journey.

"Understanding how big of a platform Division-I football is, having parents who've had experienced that certainly helps," Leeper said.

Daeden isn't the last rising Hopkins at Hermann, though.

His younger brother, Tayven Hopkins, is a sophomore for the Bearcats, expecting to see an uptick in recruitment in the coming months.