Mike Vukovcan To achieve a life-long goal, it takes hard work and commitment, and you’d be hard pressed to find someone working harder to achieve that goal than Hopewell junior Aris Haniotes.
The 6’3″, 230-pound rush-end’s dream is to play college football at the D-1 level and is doing everything possible to put himself in position to make that happen.
Since Hopewell’s last game of the 2025 season against Imani Chrisitan, Haniotes has focused on one thing and that’s to get bigger, stronger and faster.
Knowing Aris and knowing his work ethic, it’s not surprising to hear that he’s accomplishing those things.
By doing that, combined with his break-out junior season in which he racked up 14 sacks, 23 tackles for loss and 63 tackles, Haniotes is on the radar of many D-1 programs.
This past weekend, Haniotes was invited to attend a spring practice at Bowling Green, who’s head coach is former Heisman Trophy winning Ohio State running back Eddie George. This comes on the feels after making a visit to Pitt a few weeks early.
“Bowling Green was great,” Haniotes tells Vikings Sports Now. “They have a great culture with Coach Eddie George and his staff. I got along well with their D-line coach Clyde Simmons.”
If that name sounds familiar, Simmons was a former All-Pro DE that had a 15-year career in the NFL playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, Arizona Cardinals, Jacksonville Jaguars, Cincinnati Bengals and Chicago Bears.
What’s next for Haniotes in terms of recruiting?
Monmouth is scheduled to pay him a visit in the spring, along with Bowling Green, Kent State, Marshall and Temple. All of which would like to evaluate this talented player.
The Hopewell Vikings team already has two future D-1 players in James Armstrong and Nasir Wade and I believe that number will increase to three in the near future with Haniotes.
Unfortunately, times and different with college recruiting because of the transfer portal with programs pursuing veteran players first before turning their attention to high school players.
Haniotes has D-1 skill and it’s only a matter of time before all the hard work he’s put in the last two years start to pay off.
Remember Aris, Patience, Persistence and Perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success!
