Hawkins, Hoffman claim Hula Bowl MVP honors

[JAN. 23, 2006]  HONOLULU -- Illinois State's Brent Hawkins and Ryan Hoffman not only carried the flag for Illinois State, but for all of I-AA football, as the tandem claimed player-of-the-game honors at the 2006 Hula Bowl Saturday night at Aloha Stadium. Hawkins earned the Hula Bowl Defensive MVP award, while Hoffman was named the game's Special Teams MVP.

Hawkins, the 2005 Gateway Football Conference Defensive Player of the Year, sacked Missouri quarterback Brad Smith and forced a fumble with 9:06 left in the fourth quarter, which ended the West's offensive drive and preserved a 10-7 win for the East team.

The sack and forced fumble combination was nothing new for Hawkins, who led the Redbirds with 17 quarterback sacks and a school-record seven forced fumbles in 2005. The Godfrey, Ill., native played approximately 25 snaps and finished with four quarterback hurries to go along with his tackle, tackle for loss and sack.

"It is a great feeling (to be named the defensive MVP)," Hawkins said. "I worked really hard to get to this point, and it doesn't matter what level you play, football's the same. I brought the Illinois State mentality of hunting in packs into the game, and this award goes to coach (Chris) Patton and coach (Bill) Teerlinck."

Hawkins also described his game-changing sack and forced fumble.

"I was kind of setting up the (left tackle) all game with different moves, and I just got a good read on the snap. After that, I was off to the races," Hawkins said.

Hoffman also helped keep the West's offense at bay with his booming leg. ISU's record holder for career punting average had a pair of opportunities during the game. Both of Hoffman's kicks occurred at the West's 49-yard line and resulted in touchbacks. The Stevens Point, Wis., native was also the holder for the East's field goal and extra point.

"It is a great honor to even be selected to play in the Hula Bowl, and to be the named the Special Teams MVP is just icing on the cake," Hoffman said. "It was good to be out there playing with some of the nation's top players."

Even though both of his punts went for touchbacks, Hoffman was pleased with the way he kicked.

"On the first one I had to punt with the wind and I tried to hang it up high, but I didn't get it up as high as I wanted and it sailed on me," Hoffman said. "The other one, I went for the corner and had nice placement, but it just hopped over the pylon for a touchback. All and all, I had two punts for a 50-yard average. I can't complain about that."

Hawkins and Hoffman became the first pair of Illinois State teammates to participate in the same college football all-star game in school history.

[Illinois State University news release provided by [Todd Kober, assistant athletics director, media relations]

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