Mike Hawkins....

[RashanGary]

I just got back from the OTA. I watched most of the practice. I left 20 or 30 minutes early. I focused mostly on Mike Hawkins.

Positives:

His attitude and focus seems to be night and day compared to last year. I'm sure he did his best last year, but after a year with the defense, he looks much more sure of himself. He knows where to be, his head isn't spinning like it appeared to be most of last training camp.

He rarely gets beat to the outside. Any WR running an out route gets smothered.

His body looks stronger and more NFL ready. He can handle himself against Boerigter, but has some trouble with Ferg. Ferg is a beast this year so it's understandable. I don't think I've ever seen Ferg in better shape.

Negatives:

While the extra LBS will probably help him be physical at the line and in the run game, his jaw dropping quickness seems to have gone from the best I've ever seen to something just a notch better than Carroll or Harris.

He did smother every single out route, but when WR's went in, he didn't appear use proper technique. Bigger WR's like Ferg and Boerigter where able to sheild him off with their body. Hawkins is tall and has long arms so he shouldn't be getting beat that way.


Overall

I believe Hawkins has the best physical build of a CB that I've ever seen. He's tall yet jaw dropping quick. He's fast but smooth too. He has a natural instinct to look for the ball. He should get INT's with his deceptive quickness, speed adn ball skills. If he works hard I think he could push Carroll for the #3 CB position. If he continues to progress at his current rate he should be a better player than Carroll by next year. Carroll just cannot compete with his size/speed/quickness combo. Carroll has the speed and quickness, but Hawkins does the same things at 6'2". I think Hawkins tracks the ball better so that is another seemingly unteachable trait that Carroll does not have.

[Brandon494]

Nice to hear, I think this guy could become a starter in a few years.

[Anti-Polar Bear]

What in the name of T.E.D. is O.T.A?

[MJZiggy]

Hey Brandon, welcome to the forum.

Tank, OTA stands for Organized Team Activity. In other words, practice.

[Tony Oday]

Rock on I would love to see Carrol and Hawk starting in 2 years :)

[Partial]

I think if they can hang on to Hawkins for a few years and let him mature and learn the game he could be a solid player since he's such an athlete. Here's hoping he keeps getting stronger mentally and physically!

[Anti-Polar Bear]

Tank, OTA stands for Organized Team Activity. In other words, practice.

Oh, thanks for the clarification.

[KYPack]

Nick,

Hawkins a tremendous physical specimen & a helluva prospect.

But he might never start here.

He hasn't played that much football and has almost no cover skills. He really doesn't understand the basics of covering receivers. In the little that he played last year, he also made a relatively poor adjustment on the ball. He looks like Tarzan, but plays like Jane.

You saw him live & this is a new year, so maybe he's improved. The guy I saw last year had a LONG way to go.

I hope he has made a quantam leap, we need a lot of good cover corners.

[Partial]

I think if he rides the pine another year or so he'll be a solid NFL player. Quarterbacks and Cornerbacks, the two positions where the best thing you can do for a player is let them watch for a year or two.

[RashanGary]

Nick,

Hawkins a tremendous physical specimen & a helluva prospect.

But he might never start here.

He hasn't played that much football and has almost no cover skills. He really doesn't understand the basics of covering receivers. In the little that he played last year, he also made a relatively poor adjustment on the ball. He looks like Tarzan, but plays like Jane.

You saw him live & this is a new year, so maybe he's improved. The guy I saw last year had a LONG way to go.

I hope he has made a quantam leap, we need a lot of good cover corners.

You're right. He looked awfull last year. You could almost just see in his body language that he had no clue what he was doing.

He first struck my eye in practice when DB's where doing a drill where they back peddle and then explode forward. Each guy would back peddle at the same rate and then when they exploded, Hawkins would cover and I am not exaggerating here, 30 - 40% more ground than Harris or Carroll. It was just sick. He's run in the low 4.3's and changes direction really well.

We'll see. I'm not going to get all crazy about him like I did last year. There are a lot of little things that are going ot make or break his career. I really hope he keeps workign hard becuase he has #1 corner potential.

[Mazzin]

Regardless I hope that Ted Thompson dosen't do anything stupid and let some other team snatch him up (Practice Squad) But I mean that is very unlikely i just like everything i have seen from the kid.

[MadtownPacker]

Good stuff NC. Im on the Hawkins bandwagon as well. You can't ignore natural talent and it sure seems like everyone agrees he has it. Nice to know the secondary is on the rise. If Woodson stays healthy we are gonna get to see some opposing passing games getting shut down.

[Mazzin]

One ? Collins did you even go because you are saying Hawkins was exploding better than Carrol, or Harris, but in one of the reports from today Harris still wasn't at the practices. Just a :?:

[RashanGary]

One ? Collins did you even go because you are saying Hawkins was exploding better than Carrol, or Harris, but in one of the reports from today Harris still wasn't at the practices. Just a :?:

That was what I noticed last year....I was saying what first caught my eye about him.

[Mazzin]

Oh okay sorry. :oops:

[MJZiggy]

Regardless I hope that Ted Thompson dosen't do anything stupid and let some other team snatch him up (Practice Squad) But I mean that is very unlikely i just like everything i have seen from the kid.

Kid??? He's several years older than you are. :mrgreen: I think he'll develop well, but let's consider who he has to beat out to get a starting job.

[son of a vic]

Harv and the boys, were pimpin' Hawkins as the next coming, during training camp last year, and this year more of the same.
Here's an idea, let's wait until he plays a REAL game, pre-season or regular, before we have an opinion on if he can play in the NFL. Anyone can look good when the bullets aren't flying for real. I prefer to see if guys like Hawkins are tough enough to make tackles, when the opposing player has a different jersey on.

I know it's fun, for some to think they can see the diamond in the rough,
but training camp don't mean jack. It's about getting into football shape, and getting ready for the pre-season and beyond.

[MadtownPacker]

Nice to hear, I think this guy could become a starter in a few years.
Welcome to PR!

Let me know if you have any questions or need help setting up an avatar. You can PM or email me.

[Partial]

anyone else really cynical of hawkins?

[Bretsky]

I'm not buying into the Hawkins hype until I'm convinced he's a football player instead of a raw athlete. Time will tell.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Harv and the boys, were pimpin' Hawkins as the next coming, during training camp last year, and this year more of the same.
Here's an idea, let's wait until he plays a REAL game, pre-season or regular, before we have an opinion on if he can play in the NFL. Anyone can look good when the bullets aren't flying for real. I prefer to see if guys like Hawkins are tough enough to make tackles, when the opposing player has a different jersey on.

I know it's fun, for some to think they can see the diamond in the rough,
but training camp don't mean jack. It's about getting into football shape, and getting ready for the pre-season and beyond.

Horse shit! That was somebody else. I'm a lot more realistic than that. I think it was Collins who said Hawkins was the second coming off Deion Sanders, but I could be wrong. I didn't go to training camp last year. I'd never pimp somebody in a training camp that I didn't see.

[b bulldog]

Would be very stupid to really get overly excited about anyone till the popping of the pads begin.

[Bretsky]

Harv and the boys, were pimpin' Hawkins as the next coming, during training camp last year, and this year more of the same.
Here's an idea, let's wait until he plays a REAL game, pre-season or regular, before we have an opinion on if he can play in the NFL. Anyone can look good when the bullets aren't flying for real. I prefer to see if guys like Hawkins are tough enough to make tackles, when the opposing player has a different jersey on.

I know it's fun, for some to think they can see the diamond in the rough,
but training camp don't mean jack. It's about getting into football shape, and getting ready for the pre-season and beyond.

Horse shit! That was somebody else. I'm a lot more realistic than that. I think it was Collins who said Hawkins was the second coming off Deion Sanders, but I could be wrong. I didn't go to training camp last year. I'd never pimp somebody in a training camp that I didn't see.


ACTUALLY I'll back Harvey on that. While his weakness is listening to Badger friends who don't understand football well enough :wink: , he was not too fond of the Hawkins pick when he was selected................and was quite conservative in calling him anything but a project (which is what he still is) last year.

[RashanGary]

I was pimping Hawkins before Christl pimped him. I think he's an incredible athlete.

Time will tell though, there are alot of little things he needs to do well to make it.

As far as his natural ability goes, he's as good as they come.

[b bulldog]

Well I for one hopes he does have an excellant career in the NFL and I hope Nick is correct, but who knows.

[RashanGary]

I'm kind of laying off the pimping of players lately. I realize it is impossible to tell without watching tons of college tape.

I've matured quite a bit being around so many football freaks....I need to go change my name so people don't remember the old me. I like to think I've come a long way.

[Bossman641]

I'm holding off on the Hawkins bandwagon until he actually shows something worthwhile in a game. All the hawkins hype over on JSO last offseason had me pumped, I'm not falling for it again.

I'm still in his corner, and him being a success would be a great story, but to be a great cornerback requires a lot of little things that are only learned over time (how to jam correctly, how to run WR's off their routes, knowing when to look back based on the WR's eyes, understanding route running and when the offense is trying to burn you with the double move). Hawkins definitely has the athletic ability but I believe he still has a ways to go.

[HarveyWallbangers]

From what I saw of Hawkins towards the end of last year, he was still a athlete and not a cornerback. Great speed, but lousy technique. It's all on him to improve. I'm encouraged that he worked hard this offseason.

[chain_gang]

I'd like to see Hawkins become a star, well hell even a good number 2 or 3 CB. Like most of the rest though, I don't know if he ever will. He has all the tools, does he have the mental capacity to be a legitimate CB or DB in the NFL, that's still up in the air. Is he playing out of position, I would like to see what he would do at WR, who the hell knows. The thing is nobody really knows what position he could play, that's the problems with athletes. Here's hoping he turns out to be a future starter in the GB defensive backfield.

[Fritz]

He's the next Deion Sanders, the next Ty Law, the next Lem Barney, the next Big Thing, the Michael Jordan of cornerbacks.

Come on, people. It's June 2nd. If we can't be unrealistic now, when can we be? Go Mike Hawkins!