National Football League

Friends Dustin Hopkins, Zach Hocker now battling for the same job

Published Jun. 9, 2015 1:56 a.m. ET

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Imagine going up against one other person for a dream job and then finding out that the other person is someone you've been friends with for years. Well, according to Joel A. Erickson of The Advocate, that's exactly what's going on in the camp of the New Orleans Saints currently.

While Dustin Hopkins and Zach Hocker battle to earn the starting place kicker job for the Saints, it was actually Shayne Graham, who was already cut, that most people expected to win the starting job. The main reason? Well, as Hocker explains, neither he nor Hopkins has attempted a kick in a regular season NFL game.

“That’s, I think, what’s thrown most people off here is that Dustin and I both don’t have a legit 53-man roster kick in a game,” Hocker told The Advocate. “We both played in preseasons and competed for jobs. But any time you can get that first year under belt, any kind of regular-season experience, that’s definitely in your favor.”

As for the friendship between Hopkins and Hocker? That apparently began back at Kohl's Kicking Camp, which is led by Jamie Kohl, as Erickson explained.

"Hopkins and Hocker, who have both served as instructors at Kohl’s camp, forged an easy friendship, a relationship that’s now stronger based on shared experiences."

It can't be fun going up against a friend for a job, but both seem to fully understand that it's a business and that they need to perform day in and day out to make the final roster.

(h/t The Advocate)

Photo Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports