Voters in Pennsylvania's 50th district, which covers Greene County and parts of Washington and Fayette counties, will determine more than just their state representative this November.

They also will decide the football future of Greg Hopkins.

The 1995 Slippery Rock University graduate is running for a seat in the state House. If he is elected, he will retire from the Arena Football League after 11 seasons. If he loses the election, he plans to return to the AFL for at least one more season.

"It's nice to have options," Hopkins said.

Most would find such a situation unusual in the world of professional sports: a player ready to walk away from a pro gig based on a political election. But Hopkins' football tale never has followed the norm.

Hopkins, 34, makes his off-season home in Nineveh, a town with a population of 88 sturdy farmers in southwestern Pennsylvania. He helps his family run the Hopkins Store, a general market that is perhaps the only business within the small town's limits.

But when the Arena football season rolls around, he heads out to the glitz and glamour of Southern California, where he has played for the Los Angeles Avengers for the past five seasons.

"I live in an apartment complex that has more people than my hometown," Hopkins said. "It's a good mix of being here at home, being on the farm, which keeps me grounded, and the complete flip side of it when I go to California."

Hopkins is laid back and content at home, spending his days at the store or on the farm. But when he hits the Arena field, he is anything but passive.

The two time Iron Man of the Year Award winner — the AFL's equivalent of an MVP award — has carved out quite a career in the league that celebrated its 20th season last year.

Hopkins, a wide receiver-defensive back, has tallied some impressive career numbers.

He has 758 receptions (sixth on the all-time list) for 9,456 yards (fifth all-time) and 181 receiving touchdowns (seventh in league history).

On defense, he has recorded 339½ tackles and 25 interceptions. He has returned 10 of those picks for touchdowns, which is first in AFL history.

In January, he was voted the 14th best player in league history by the 20th Season Historical Committee.

Not bad for a guy who thought his football career was over after high school.

"I left the field after my last game at Waynesburg (HighSchool) and thought 'This is the last time I am going to walk off a football field,'" Hopkins said.

But he went to SRU and excelled there as well. He left The Rock as the all-time leader in receptions (215) and yardage (3,382). He also caught 29 touchdown passes.

Again, after his last game at The Rock, he thought his career was over.

His coach, George Mihalik, told him he'd see him again when he was inducted into the SRU Hall of Fame. That happened last year.

Hopkins tried to latch on with the Ottawa Roughriders in the CanadianFootballLeague but was released in training camp. Once again, he thought his football days were over.

"Over and over, I've had to start at the bottom of the barrel and fight and scratch for everything," Hopkins said. "Now I'm one of the older guys, a team captain."

Hopkins said he learned how to roll with the punches and learned how to be a leader in his days at SRU.

Now he starting at the bottom of the barrel again in a potential new career: politics.

Running for political office was something that occurred to Hopkins just recently.

"It was something that developed definitely later in my life," Hopkins said. "I never aspired to be in politics. Football was always at the top of my list.

"I want to give back to the community."

Hopkins is more than content to leave the football arena for the political one if that should happen.

"My goal was to play 10 seasons and I've played 11," Hopkins said. "A lot of guys walk away too late or are told to leave. I'd be leaving on my own terms. I feel like, physically, I can play for four more seasons. I have the option to go back to L.A. or another team — I'm a free agent.

"But I've played 11 years. I've won a championship. I can walk away, cash out with my health and my pride."

<I>This is one in a series of articles on Slippery Rock University graduates who have moved on to athletic careers elsewhere.</I>