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LB A.J. Hawk (2x All-American, Lombardi Trophy, National Champion, Super Bowl Champion)

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Former Buckeye Hawk defends Tressel
Former Centerville, Ohio State standout says he never saw violations.
By Greg Billing, Staff Writer
Thursday, June 23, 2011

Even with the NFL lockout keeping him off the field, Green Bay Packers linebacker A.J. Hawk has found a use for his defensive skills this offseason.

Hawk, who played at Ohio State, defended his former coach, Jim Tressel, who recently resigned amid scandal.

?I haven?t had to defend myself, but I chose to defend Coach Tressel,? Hawk said during a conference call for next month?s American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament in South Lake Tahoe, Nev.

?I think it?s a shame. Obviously he knew he made a mistake with not reporting everything he knew. It?s a shame such a great guy, a great person has to kind of go out that way. I?ve seen him a few times since he resigned and he?s handling it really well. He?s really classy and I hate to see that happen to him. I hope the program still thrives in the future. As for him, I think it?s going to take some time.?

Hawk, a Centerville native who lives in Columbus in the offseason, told ESPN?s ?First Take? recently he disagreed with a Sports Illustrated article and how it presented Tressel. He also said he didn?t see any of the rules violations the program is being accused of now.

?The crazy thing is, in my four years there, I never saw anything like that,? Hawk said. ?A couple guys on the team at the time got into trouble, but I never saw anything. That never got inside the locker room, I would say. It was never anything I was aware of. ... I?m definitely surprised with the stuff that?s coming out now.?


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http://www.daytondailynews.com/dayt...mer-buckeye-hawk-defends-tressel-1191368.html
 
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Hawk getting back into the swing of golf
Sun, Jun 26
by Patrick Dorsey

pg2_g_hawk1x_576.jpg

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
A.J. Hawk, recovering from wrist surgery in February, is working on his golf game.

When A.J. Hawk first got into golf -- late in high school, then in his early days at Ohio State -- he did what most football types do.

"Just being an athlete," the Green Bay Packers linebacker said, "I always tried to play hard and wanted to drive the ball far."

Then -- when he participated two years ago in the celebrity-filled American Century Championship -- he really embraced the grip-it-and-rip-it attitude. Not an accomplished linksman, Hawk nonetheless entered the Lake Tahoe-based event's long-drive contest, his first such competition.

"I figured [I had] to bring something to the table out in Tahoe," he said. "... because I'm not making any putts or chipping anything in."

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http://espn.go.com/espn/page2/index?id=6705863
 
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Rivals at 10: Top 25 College Football Players
14. Ohio State LB A.J. Hawk
SEASONS: 2002-05
BUZZ: Hawk was a consensus All-American in 2004 and '05, and earned first-team All-Big Ten honors in each of his three seasons as a starter. Hawk made 394 career tackles, with 15.5 sacks and seven interceptions. Hawk won the Lombardi Award in 2005 and was MVP of the Fiesta Bowl the same season. He was a first-round pick in the 2006 draft.
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A.J. Hawk Can Hit A Golf Ball Farther Than You
Acmepackingco_tiny by Brandon on Jul 17, 2011

LB A.J. Hawk is another one of the Green Bay Packers golfing in Tahoe this weekend, and it appears that his previous comments about his injured wrist remain true based on his performance off the tee. From the L.A. Times:

"I just hit it as hard as I can. I try not to think too much," said the self- deprecating big man who plays with just one wood (a 10-degree driver) in his bag. "I have issues when I start thinking out there. I just like seeing how far I can hit it. I don't mess with my clubs, and I don't practice. I just like to play."

Earlier in the week, Hawk won the Korbel Long Drive for the second time in three years. His blast of 337 yards was 15 yards farther than his winning poke from 2009. It was so far that it hit the NBC camera tower at the back end of the practice range.

"I can talk to these guys anytime (Tebow and Schaub), but just not so much on game days," quipped Hawk, the defensive signal caller for the Packers. "I don't trash talk during games. I'd sound like an idiot. Besides, I have too much to say in the huddle."
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http://www.acmepackingcompany.com/2011/7/17/2280258/a-j-hawk-can-hit-a-golf-ball-farther-than-you
 
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Packers pay Hawk to run things smoothly
By Bob McGinn of the Journal Sentinel
July 31, 2011

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Rick Wood
Packers coaches and players rave about the comportment inside linebacker A.J. Hawk (50) displays directing the defense?s huddle.

Green Bay - The email from an executive in personnel for an NFC team arrived March 8, five days after the Green Bay Packers signed A.J. Hawk to a five-year, $33.75 million contract, including $10.95 million guaranteed.

It read: "What are those guys thinking about giving that linebacker (Hawk) all that money?"

The new deal for Hawk came two months after general manager Ted Thompson gave Desmond Bishop $18 million over four years.

At the combine, coach Mike McCarthy made it clear that Bishop was the team's No. 1 player at inside linebacker.

Those two deals meant Nick Barnett's eight-year career was over in Green Bay. On Sunday, two days after being released from the final two years of the six-year, $34.98 million contract he signed in April 2007, Barnett signed with Buffalo.

The personnel man's question was legitimate. Inside linebacker might be the least important position in a 3-4 defense, and for most of Hawk's career he had been a pretty ordinary player.

After starting for five seasons, never missing a game and playing probably 85% of the snaps, Hawk made a ton of tackles (666, counting playoffs) but not an abundance of impact plays: Eight interceptions, two forced fumbles, four recovered fumbles, 10 sacks, 15 tackles for loss, 32 passes defensed and no touchdowns.

Not only hasn't Hawk made the Pro Bowl, he was never named to the All-NFC North team selected by scouts for the Journal Sentinel.

"Marginal starter," a personnel director for another NFC team said late last season. "Not a take-on linebacker. He's never going to play to the level where he was drafted. He?s a linebacker that if you keep him clean and give him an alley to the football, he can be productive."

Over the years, most scouts preferred Barnett to Hawk. It was Barnett who ran the defense, made the harder hits and showed more range to the sideline.

That all changed, at least in the eyes of the Packers, in Week 4 last season when Barnett suffered a season-ending wrist injury. Besides being 2? years older than Hawk, Barnett also had a balky right knee that had been reconstructed in 2008.

Even given Hawk's superior durability, it's doubtful if the Packers would have paid Hawk that kind of money (his average salary ranks eighth among inside/middle linebackers) unless McCarthy and defensive coordinator Dom Capers hadn't seen a different side of him in 2010.

Minus Barnett, the job of receiving the defensive call electronically from the coaches and then presenting it in the huddle fell to Hawk. The coaches say Hawk flourished like never before with the additional responsibility.

"I think he grew as a leader," McCarthy said a week before Hawk's new deal became final. "I think he commanded the defense very well. We were very consistent, very stable under him. His preparation is very consistent. He's the quarterback of the defense. I think A.J. belongs in Green Bay."

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http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/126496868.html
 
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In my opinion a pretty HORRIBLE pass interference call last night. He jumped over the guy, made contact with him as he jumped over, and clearly knocked the ball down before it was catchable. Both players have the right to play the ball and it sure looked like that is what he was going after the ball. What if he would have caught it instead of knocking it down??
 
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Did Hawk get a prescription for amphetamines?

He looks so much more active than any time in his NFL career... He is just flying around... Looks like he's got full control of the field and his team... you can see the confidence ooze
 
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RCollett;1985454; said:
In my opinion a pretty HORRIBLE pass interference call last night. He jumped over the guy, made contact with him as he jumped over, and clearly knocked the ball down before it was catchable. Both players have the right to play the ball and it sure looked like that is what he was going after the ball. What if he would have caught it instead of knocking it down??
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It was close.. but not hard to see why the called it considering the angle the ref had..
 
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