From The Beaches To The Grand Stage

All high-level football players undergo intense training sessions to prepare their bodies and minds for a long season. But junior linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II takes that to a new level.

Hyppolite, a Fort Lauderdale, Florida, native, spends his offseasons training on the hot Florida beaches for two to three hours at a time with his former high school coach Junior Rosegreen. The beaches offer a form of natural resistance that forces Hyppolite and his body to adapt to difficult circumstances.

"It really pushes you to your limits both in your body and your mind," Hyppolite said. "When I first started, it was a level of intensity I had never experienced.”

Hyppolite began these workouts when he transferred to McArthur High School for his senior season and met Rosegreen, a former All-American safety at Auburn. Rosegreen immediately introduced Hyppolite and his teammates to rigorous workouts, many of which took place on the beach, where the guys would run sprints and work with monkey bars and resistance bands—all while dealing with the shifting sand on the ground.

"He transformed my mindset in a way where he really valued working out and training, and doing it in a way where it's the most challenging," Hyppolite said of Rosegreen.

Hyppolite never knows what faces him each time with Rosegreen's beach workouts. However, he quickly determined that he preferred it that way. 

"I learned pretty quickly that when I'm out there with him, I don't count the time or the reps or anything," Hyppolite said. "I'm out there doing what he says. I'm present and doing what I have to do. I know it's going to end at some point."

"The workouts have definitely gotten easier, but Junior always finds a way to tweak it a little bit and give me a new challenge," he added. "He's good for that too, because I can never get too comfortable. He always keeps me on my toes and I appreciate it."

Hyppolite makes it a priority to find time to train with Rosegreen whenever he returns home to Florida in the offseason, chalking up a lot of his on-field success to those workouts. 

"It's made me a better football player, not only from the standpoint of strength and things of that nature, but mentally just getting through the hard work," Hyppolite said. "It conditions my body well to be able to withstand and to play the same from quarter one to quarter four with the same intensity, same mental focus, no matter how hot it is outside."

In addition to Rosegreen's beach workouts, Hyppolite attributes much of his development to growing up watching and admiring Baltimore Ravens star Ray Lewis. Hyppolite emulated Lewis' game and even attended his camps in high school, winning camp MVP one year.

"Those camps were such a great experience that I wouldn't trade for anything," Hyppolite said. "I idolized everything Ray Lewis did on the football field."

And while the former four-star linebacker and ESPN 300 member was obviously drawn to the jaw-dropping hits and momentum-swinging sacks, the way Lewis led and directed his teammates on the field stood out to Hyppolite the most. 

"He showed the importance of not just using your voice, but using it in a way where you're making a positive impact on your teammates around you," Hyppolite said. "That's what I'm focusing on now. It's not just using my voice just because or using it in vain, but to actually lift up others around me."

That leadership will prove vital for Hyppolite and the Terps this year as he looks to guide a young linebacker corps. 

"We have a lot of new guys, a lot of young guys, who have the ability to do something great for us. But a lot of times the college playing field can get confusing, so it's my job and my duty to make sure they're well off and that I lead them in the right direction."

Hyppolite is no stranger to having to step up as a leader. Last season, veteran linebacker Fa'Najae Gotay went down with a season-ending injury early in Maryland's first game, forcing Hyppolite to become a leader as a sophomore. 

"I've been thrown in the fire a lot my whole life, so that wasn't really anything new," Hyppolite said. "But, it was another challenge I had to stand up against because I had to step up in roles I didn't think I would have to. You kind of have to step up and just do it because people are going to look to you and rely on you."

Hyppotlie's leadership has not gone unnoticed by the coaching staff. 

"Most of Ruben's growth has been more in how he's had a positive effect on his teammates," head coach Michael Locksley said. "Ruben is typically a very quiet guy that goes about his business. He led by how he practiced and his effort in everything he did. He's a guy that, from the day he walked on campus midyear (in the spring semester of 2020), just jumped out because of the type of work ethic he has. Now, I see him becoming a lot more vocal and he's leading across the board, not just our defensive players but our offensive players."

"I had a lot of expectations for myself coming in as a freshman in 2020, so I put a lot of pressure on myself to be the voice of the team and to grow into that role," Hyppolite added. "I've grown into that role now, so it's my job to make sure that I lead the guys I take the field with on all three phases: offense, defense and special teams."

In addition to his leadership, Hyppolite has carved out a role wreaking havoc on opposing offenses. Last season, he finished third on the team with 62 tackles (39 solo), including a game-high 12 tackles during the Terps' New Era Pinstripe Bowl win over Virginia Tech. Hyppolite has appeared in all but one of Maryland's games since his first season in 2020. 

For Hyppolite, none of that success would be possible without his mom Laquinta "Nikki" Hyppolite. 

"She's the rock of my life," Hyppolite said.

"A lot of sacrifices went into me being here today as far as time, money and resources," he added. "She's always found a way for me to be able to have the opportunities I have now."

Nikki made time to drive Hyppolite to whatever workout, practice, or game he needed to attend, no matter how far away it was. Despite living in Florida, she prioritizes her son's football efforts just as much today, attending almost every one of his games, home and away.

"She finds a way to make it to watch me play every single time," Hyppolite said. "She gives me endless support. I'm so grateful for that." 

Now, with the opportunities afforded to him through Maryland football and NIL, Hyppolite considers it his duty to return the favor to the woman who sacrificed so much for him.

"Now that I'm in a position to give back to her with NIL and that I'm playing well enough to have a shot at the next level, I see all that as repaying her. She did her job, and she did it very well. So, I'm truly so thankful to her. Now it's my turn to do my part."

A piece of doing his part will come down to how productive the linebackers and defense are this season. After finishing last season with two standout defensive outings, expectations are high for that side of the ball. 

The linebacker room is remarkably talented, with veterans like Hyppolite and Gotay to pair alongside the young talent, including true freshman Jaishawn Barham who is a co-starter on the Week One depth chart. Locksley compared Barham to a young Hyppolite, noting the freshman's similar quiet leadership, sharp mind, and college-ready body. 

There are a lot of players in the unit competing for snaps, but that's a good thing in Hyppolite's eyes.

"We have a lot of great guys in the linebacker room and it breeds a lot of competition," Hyppolite said. "A lot of guys can play in a lot of places and they can go pretty well. We're such a tight knit group where you want everybody to win. When we help each other, when we're in each other's ears whether we made a mistake or made a great play, it builds trust among us and it builds a sense of unity among us."

Hyppolite has emphasized the importance of execution for the entire defensive unit this year. 

"I just want us to execute," Hyppolite said. "We're not going to be perfect all the time, but I would like us to be a team that executes to the best of their ability every snap."

And while Hyppolite has big goals for himself and has plans for the NFL to be in his future, that isn't where his attention lies. 

"I feel that if we do execute as a defense, my personal goals, my personal aspirations, they'll come to fruition naturally. I just want to be the best version of myself, that's really what I'm focused on."