Westside (Houston, TX) cornerback Hipolito Corporan enjoyed a big season in 2011, finishing with six interceptions and more than 50 tackles on an 8-3 team. The 6’2″, 185-pound junior’s performance drew the attention of college coaches, and this spring several major FBS programs offered before Corporan verbally committed to the University of Virginia. A position change and inspiration from a Westside assistant contributed to standout prospect’s ascent on the high school level.

Hipolito Corporan ‘s High School Career

In the ninth grade, Corporan played wide receiver and safety for the Westside freshman football squad. As a sophomore he moved up to the varsity level, where he played safety. But following the 2010 season, head coach Mark Byrd moved Corporan to cornerback.

“We played him at safety his sophomore year, but the field was just too big for him at times. We moved him to corner his junior year, and he finally locked into a position,” Byrd said. “His confidence level went way up. We play him at boundary corner. He does some man coverage. The biggest question was whether he could backpedal at 6’2″. He worked on that all last spring, and he had six interceptions last season. It looks like he’ll have a big season coming up.”

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