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Hawkins becomes only the second Redbird player to ever be named a
candidate for the Buchanan Award, following former linebacker Boomer
Grigsby, who was runner-up for the honor in 2003 and placed third in
2002 and 2004. "Wow, this is just a great honor to even be
considered for the award," Hawkins said when hearing the news. "Not
only have my current teammates played a huge part in this, but some
of it even comes from Boomer. I think with him being on the watch
list the last three years, it has really brought a lot of attention
to our program and our players."
Hawkins, who is in his second season at Illinois State after
attending Purdue, worked on his entire game during the offseason.
"After taking the year off, I really had to get my mindset back,"
Hawkins said. "I felt last year was part of the rebuilding process
for me, because it takes a lot for a person who has been out to get
back into the game mentally. I thought last year I was trying to get
that back, but after this spring working out with (strength and
conditioning) coach (Rohrk) Cutchlow, I began to gain confidence as
I gained strength. I have developed a hungrier mentality, and that's
what's gotten me to where I am now."
The hungry mentality has taken its toll on opposing quarterbacks.
Through six games, Hawkins has registered a Gateway Football
Conference-best seven quarterback sacks and 11 tackles for loss. He
has also forced a school-record-tying five fumbles, while recovering
one. He also leads the team, and the entire league, in tackles by a
defensive lineman with 36, including 18 solos.
[to top of second column in this article]
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 "I think Brent Hawkins is one of our marquee players and
certainly one of the marquee players in the Gateway Football
Conference," head coach Denver Johnson said. "He is a tremendous
competitor with great tenacity, God-given ability and great
character as well. He certainly deserves to be on this list, and I
expect that he will fare well when the balloting occurs.
The official "Buchanan Battle" list will undergo two additional
revisions prior to the distribution of ballots on Nov. 21.
The next change will be made on Nov. 2, and the final changes
will be made just prior to the distribution of ballots.
The winner of the Buchanan Award will be invited to attend the
presentation in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Dec. 15.
Hawkins is the second Redbird this season to be named to a watch
list for a national award. Senior punter
Ryan Hoffman is the only player from I-AA named to the 50-player
watch list for the Ray Guy Award, presented to the nation's top
punter.
[Todd Kober,
assistant athletics director, media relations,
Illinois
State University]
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