RashanGary
05-04-2006, 11:46 PM
Effusive praise from others doesn’t go to linebacker’s head
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Tim May
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Discussion of the NFL draft often forces even the experts to equivocate. Pro football’s annual talent roundup is not always about taking the best player as much as it is filling a need or gambling on a potential star. Such is the case in this weekend’s draft, said longtime talent purveyor Gil Brandt, now of NFL.com.
"In today’s schemes, for example, the quarterback is the most important player," Brandt said. "Then comes the great left tackle who can protect the quarterback’s blind side. The outstanding defensive end who can rush the passer and give you pressure, they’re probably next because they can have such an impact on the game.
"But if you were just looking at the prospects this year in a pure football sense and just saying who is the best player in this draft, it would be A..J. Hawk. He is amazing."
Put in context, Brandt’s statement is amazing. There was a time not that long ago when Hawk would have been considered fourth best  not fourth best among NFL draft prospects, but the fourth-best linebacker in Ohio State’s 2002 recruiting class.
Now he’s just a few days from likely being the first linebacker taken in the NFL draft. He’ll certainly be a top-10 pick and could go in the first five, a short list including Heisman Trophywinning running back Reggie Bush, quarterbacks Matt Leinart and Vince Young, defensive end Mario Williams and offensive tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson.
As Brandt pointed out, such are the vagaries of the draft.
"For a pure football player, Hawk is the one," Brandt said.
Hawk appreciated the comment, but it’s his nature not to take anything for granted. Earlier this week, for example, while some other top prospects might have been spending time with their agents or sleeping in, Hawk was taking an advanced statistics exam at Ohio State.
"I’m telling you, that test was hard," Hawk said.
If it seems odd that Hawk would concern himself with schoolwork the same week in which he begins a milliondollar professional football career, then you don’t know A.J. Hawk. He takes a similar approach to praise about his abilities.
"Obviously it’s flattering and it’s nice to hear that kind of stuff, but you can’t really put too much into it," Hawk said. "If I bought into every good thing somebody said about me, I’d probably just be on the couch, sitting back, thinking I already had it made.
"That’s not the way football is. For one thing, it’s a team game. And as a player, you’ve always got to keep getting better."
That is the essence of Hawk, said Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Heacock, who has watched him closely for four years.
"What stands out? His passion for the game, to begin with  he loves to play football," Heacock said. "On top of that there’s his great character, his great work ethic, great toughness, all of the intangibles  he’s got them all."
It was Hawk’s tangibles that seemed to be in question at certain points in his career, never more than when he made the step from Centerville High School to Ohio State. He was considered by most recruiting experts to be the fourth linebacker in the celebrated OSU class that included Mike D’Andrea, Bobby Carpenter and Stan White Jr.
"That just goes to show you those rankings and things, you never know how someone is going to respond until they’re put into the mix with everybody else," said Mike Kudla, a standout high-school linebacker from that class who was moved to defensive end.
Four years later, Hawk stands out among a talentrich class of OSU players, 12 or more of whom could be drafted this weekend.
"He’s the man," safety Nate Salley said.
Hawk proved that over and over at Ohio State, and not just in leading the team in tackles for three straight seasons.
"More than anything it was his competitiveness," Heacock said. "Whether it was practice in a tackling drill or just running, he was always going to compete. Whatever he did was always 100 percent. You never got anything less than that."
In college football, however, a lot of players have heart and passion. What the 6-foot-1, 248-pound Hawk has done, Brandt said, is combine the intangibles with the tangibles.
For example, he ran the 40-yard dash in the 4.50-second range at the OSU pro day last month; he finished the shuttle drill in an outstanding 3.96 seconds; and he has a standing vertical leap of 40 inches.
"Sometimes you get guys who have a love for the game but they don’t test well, and sometimes you get guys who test well who just aren’t good at playing football," Brandt said. "A.J. Hawk is the combination. He’s a great football player with great skills who just wants to get better."
Hawk’s mother, Judy, said she has watched the youngest of her three sons star at every level from the second grade on. His humble demeanor may have kept him out of the spotlight at times, but "it doesn’t surprise us that he has excelled," she said. "With A.J., what you see is what you get."
To hear folks refer to him now as the best linebacker available in the draft, "That’s surreal. I can’t comprehend that," Judy Hawk said. "It is a great honor and privilege to have people speak of your son that way, because you know he is a fantastic young man. But I go back to what A.J. always says: ‘Do it on the field.’
"We kind of look at this as just moving on to the next level, just like he’s done all of his life. You never take it for granted."
She admitted, though, she wouldn’t have minded seeing her son’s humility take a day off this weekend. The NFL offered to fly Hawk, his fiancee, Laura Quinn  sister of Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn  and his parents to New York so he could be on hand at the draft. He declined the offer.
"We’re talking about four first-class tickets to New York, where we would have been pampered for a couple of days  that doesn’t sound bad to me," Judy Hawk said with a laugh..
But A.J. has never flown that way.
"On draft day I want to be comfortable, sitting with family and the people I care about the most," he said. "I don’t want a big camera in my face with people seeing my reaction.
"Besides, I’m not a guy to have a big reaction to anything anyway. I’m just looking forward to finding out which team is going to pick me and where I’m going to play football next."
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Tim May
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Discussion of the NFL draft often forces even the experts to equivocate. Pro football’s annual talent roundup is not always about taking the best player as much as it is filling a need or gambling on a potential star. Such is the case in this weekend’s draft, said longtime talent purveyor Gil Brandt, now of NFL.com.
"In today’s schemes, for example, the quarterback is the most important player," Brandt said. "Then comes the great left tackle who can protect the quarterback’s blind side. The outstanding defensive end who can rush the passer and give you pressure, they’re probably next because they can have such an impact on the game.
"But if you were just looking at the prospects this year in a pure football sense and just saying who is the best player in this draft, it would be A..J. Hawk. He is amazing."
Put in context, Brandt’s statement is amazing. There was a time not that long ago when Hawk would have been considered fourth best  not fourth best among NFL draft prospects, but the fourth-best linebacker in Ohio State’s 2002 recruiting class.
Now he’s just a few days from likely being the first linebacker taken in the NFL draft. He’ll certainly be a top-10 pick and could go in the first five, a short list including Heisman Trophywinning running back Reggie Bush, quarterbacks Matt Leinart and Vince Young, defensive end Mario Williams and offensive tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson.
As Brandt pointed out, such are the vagaries of the draft.
"For a pure football player, Hawk is the one," Brandt said.
Hawk appreciated the comment, but it’s his nature not to take anything for granted. Earlier this week, for example, while some other top prospects might have been spending time with their agents or sleeping in, Hawk was taking an advanced statistics exam at Ohio State.
"I’m telling you, that test was hard," Hawk said.
If it seems odd that Hawk would concern himself with schoolwork the same week in which he begins a milliondollar professional football career, then you don’t know A.J. Hawk. He takes a similar approach to praise about his abilities.
"Obviously it’s flattering and it’s nice to hear that kind of stuff, but you can’t really put too much into it," Hawk said. "If I bought into every good thing somebody said about me, I’d probably just be on the couch, sitting back, thinking I already had it made.
"That’s not the way football is. For one thing, it’s a team game. And as a player, you’ve always got to keep getting better."
That is the essence of Hawk, said Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Heacock, who has watched him closely for four years.
"What stands out? His passion for the game, to begin with  he loves to play football," Heacock said. "On top of that there’s his great character, his great work ethic, great toughness, all of the intangibles  he’s got them all."
It was Hawk’s tangibles that seemed to be in question at certain points in his career, never more than when he made the step from Centerville High School to Ohio State. He was considered by most recruiting experts to be the fourth linebacker in the celebrated OSU class that included Mike D’Andrea, Bobby Carpenter and Stan White Jr.
"That just goes to show you those rankings and things, you never know how someone is going to respond until they’re put into the mix with everybody else," said Mike Kudla, a standout high-school linebacker from that class who was moved to defensive end.
Four years later, Hawk stands out among a talentrich class of OSU players, 12 or more of whom could be drafted this weekend.
"He’s the man," safety Nate Salley said.
Hawk proved that over and over at Ohio State, and not just in leading the team in tackles for three straight seasons.
"More than anything it was his competitiveness," Heacock said. "Whether it was practice in a tackling drill or just running, he was always going to compete. Whatever he did was always 100 percent. You never got anything less than that."
In college football, however, a lot of players have heart and passion. What the 6-foot-1, 248-pound Hawk has done, Brandt said, is combine the intangibles with the tangibles.
For example, he ran the 40-yard dash in the 4.50-second range at the OSU pro day last month; he finished the shuttle drill in an outstanding 3.96 seconds; and he has a standing vertical leap of 40 inches.
"Sometimes you get guys who have a love for the game but they don’t test well, and sometimes you get guys who test well who just aren’t good at playing football," Brandt said. "A.J. Hawk is the combination. He’s a great football player with great skills who just wants to get better."
Hawk’s mother, Judy, said she has watched the youngest of her three sons star at every level from the second grade on. His humble demeanor may have kept him out of the spotlight at times, but "it doesn’t surprise us that he has excelled," she said. "With A.J., what you see is what you get."
To hear folks refer to him now as the best linebacker available in the draft, "That’s surreal. I can’t comprehend that," Judy Hawk said. "It is a great honor and privilege to have people speak of your son that way, because you know he is a fantastic young man. But I go back to what A.J. always says: ‘Do it on the field.’
"We kind of look at this as just moving on to the next level, just like he’s done all of his life. You never take it for granted."
She admitted, though, she wouldn’t have minded seeing her son’s humility take a day off this weekend. The NFL offered to fly Hawk, his fiancee, Laura Quinn  sister of Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn  and his parents to New York so he could be on hand at the draft. He declined the offer.
"We’re talking about four first-class tickets to New York, where we would have been pampered for a couple of days  that doesn’t sound bad to me," Judy Hawk said with a laugh..
But A.J. has never flown that way.
"On draft day I want to be comfortable, sitting with family and the people I care about the most," he said. "I don’t want a big camera in my face with people seeing my reaction.
"Besides, I’m not a guy to have a big reaction to anything anyway. I’m just looking forward to finding out which team is going to pick me and where I’m going to play football next."