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

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Who makes A.J. Hawk's Mount Rushmore of Ohio State LBs?
  • Written by Brent Yarina, BTN.com Senior Editor
  • posted on 9/24/13
Former Ohio State standout linebacker and current Green Bay Packer A.J. Hawk stopped by the BTN studio Tuesday. With his Packers on a bye week, Hawk took the time to be a guest analyst on #BTNLive. Watch video of Hawk’s appearance above. Before Hawk went in front of the cameras, BTN.com asked him a handful of questions we received for him on Twitter.

We’ll get to the tweets in a moment. First, let’s get to his interview on #BTNLive.

I also had a couple questions for Hawk:

BTN.com: I know it’s difficult to do, but give me your Mount Rushmore of Ohio State Linebackers.
Hawk: That’s a great one. There’s so many! (Chris) Spielman’s up there. Obviously, everyone loves that guy. He’s the man. I’m going to go out on a limb and a guy that was an intern coach when I was there: Steve Tovar. Tovar, I love Tovar. He’s a great coach and a great guy. A guy who gets overlooked, I think, is Marcus Marek. And (Randy) Gradishar, I’ll put him up there.

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http://btn.com/2013/09/24/who-makes-a-j-hawks-mount-rushmore-of-ohio-state-lbs/
 
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One on One with A.J. Hawk
A.J. Hawk sat down with packers.com Editor Vic Ketchman to provide fans with this look at the Packers' star linebacker
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Q. You’re in your eighth season in the NFL. How would you describe your career?
A. Wow, that’s a great question. It’s tough to put it all into words. I would say it’s very lucky, first of all, to still be here; it’s hard to stay with one team for eight years, especially a team as great as the Packers organization. Just like anybody else in the league, there are always ups and downs. I definitely think there have been more ups than downs. I’ve loved it, had a great time. I think in year eight I feel as good as I’ve ever felt, mentally and physically.

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Hawk was a two-time All American at Ohio State and won the Lombardi Award in 2005
Q. What were your expectations coming out of Ohio State?
A. I’ve been asked that before. I think I was so young and naive coming out of Ohio State. Obviously, it’s a big program and we played in a ton of big games. I didn’t know what to expect. I had no idea. I just wanted to come in and keep my head down and work hard, not say anything. I probably didn’t speak for the first two years I was here. A lot of people talk about stay in your lane; you know, just do your job and don’t say a word. Listen to the vets and do everything that you’re supposed to. So I think I was so singly focused on that I don’t know what my expectations were. We went to the NFC championship game my second year here. First year we were 8-8, second year NFC championship game and almost got to the Super Bowl. So it was an eventful first couple of years for sure.

Q. Playing in Green Bay?
A. I had never been here but I knew all about it, the history of the Packers. You hear a lot of guys that talk about their draft story and they say, “I didn’t even know where Green Bay is; I didn’t know it was in Wisconsin.” I knew everything about that, I would follow the Packers a decent amount. Brett had been here for so long and he was kind of the face of the Packers forever. I would say it’s unique compared to every other NFL city. My buddies that play on other teams always talk about “I’m riding the bus to the game, just riding through a neighborhood and bam, there’s Lambeau right there,” as most stadiums are downtown in the city. All your neighbors are so nice and everything. One of my dogs has run away like 10 times over the last three or four years, and his tag keeps falling off and my neighbors know who he is. He’ll be five miles away and I’ll have someone bring them back to my house. I can’t see that happening anywhere else. The last two times he ran away, someone stopped their car. They opened their door and he just jumped in, they took him home and he stayed a night at their house, they fed him and everything. I just can’t imagine anywhere else where you open your car door to a big German shepherd and he sleeps on your living room floor. Just the people are amazing; you can’t even describe it.

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http://www.packers.com/news-and-eve...-AJ-Hawk/b1ab2997-bbc1-48fc-ac71-960c0dc79452

 
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10 tackles (five for a loss) and a career-high three sacks....

Hawk steps up with Matthews, Jones down

Oct 14, 2013
Written by
Weston Hodkiewicz

If this wasn’t A.J. Hawk’s best game in a Green Bay Packers’ uniform, it certainly wasn’t far behind.

Missing Brad Jones to a hamstring injury, the Packers’ defense was put into the hands of the eighth-year veteran inside linebacker, who responded with 10 tackles (five for a loss) and a career-high three sacks that loomed large during Sunday’s 19-17 win over Baltimore.

Hawk said he hadn’t worn the “speaker” helmet responsible for communicating with the sideline from start-to-finish in two years, but had to assume that role with Jones down and third-year linebacker Jamari Lattimore making his first career start in Jones’ place.

Charged to direct a defense and pass rush playing without Clay Matthews (thumb), Hawk directed the unit to five sacks, 10 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and one recovery.

“A.J. made us right. That’s the best way to put it,” Packers defensive lineman Mike Daniels said. “He showed why he is A.J. Hawk. It’s an honor to play with him.”

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http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com...1/131013010/Hawk-steps-up-Matthews-Jones-down


Packers' Hawk once again in the spotlight
By Jim Owczarski
Sports Editor
Published Oct. 10, 2013

GREEN BAY – He was the chosen one, the star linebacker. Then he was just another guy. Then he was needed again. His career, admittedly, has had its ups and downs, but A.J. Hawk has never been expendable.

Drafted fifth overall out of Ohio State in 2006, Hawk immediately made an impact for the Green Bay Packers, winning Defensive Rookie of the Year honors after recording 121 tackles (84 solo) to go with 3 ½ sacks and two interceptions and a forced fumble.

His production immediately waned, so much so that four years later – at the start of 2010 – he was part of a rotation in defensive coordinator Dom Capers' linebacking corps. He even failed to see the field in the team's season-opening victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.

While Hawk said he'd be open to a trade at that point in his career, Packers general manager Ted Thompson wouldn't move him – a decision that bore fruit when linebacker after linebacker was lost to injury and Hawk wound up making the Pro Bowl and the Packers won the Super Bowl.

Less than a month after the celebration though, Hawk was released because of the $10 million he was owed in 2011. A day later, he was back with a new five-year, $33.75 million contract.

There was never really any consideration given to leaving Green Bay.

"Any guy that plays here will tell you that it's awesome," Hawk said. "Especially a guy that's gone somewhere else and came back or started somewhere else and came here, they'll let you know this is kind of the top of the heap. How they treat you, how they run the organization, everything, is the best. It's all I know in the NFL so I don't wasn't in a hurry to get anywhere else."

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http://onmilwaukee.com/sports/articles/packersajhawk.html?35452
 
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With Matthews out, Packers look to ... A.J. Hawk

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Rick Wood Ravens running back Ray Rice (27) is stopped for a 1-yard gain by Packers inside linebacker A.J. Hawk and safety Morgan Burnett on Sunday. Hawk has one of the best games of his career against the Ravens with 10 tackles, three sacks and one tackle for a loss. He has been a frequent target of fans’ criticism.

By Tyler Dunne of the Journal Sentinel
Baltimore — The same day Desmond Bishop tore his ACL in Minnesota, A.J. Hawk had three sacks. The same day Brad Jones and Clay Matthews were spectators (again), Hawk was healthy for the 125th time in 127 games.

He blitzed. He helped spearhead a goal-line stand. This was a career day for the man we've all tried driving out of town.

Afterward, he shrugged.

"Give a lot of credit to the D-line up there," Hawk said. "I don't come free very often, and I did today a few times. That was nice."

Hawk downplayed his performance. Not a major surprise. This summer, he insisted he's never too high, never too low, never Googling his name like teammates. A state of total calm is why Hawk has lasted so long. He's the Packers' coach on the field, the one relaying defensive calls at warp speed before the snap.

But in Green Bay's 19-17 win at Baltimore, Hawk was more. He was cut loose, the playmaker Green Bay needs right now.

Defensive coordinator Dom Capers says it constantly. Matthews made the two, three plays that "change a game."

After years of leaving fans yearning for more "splash" plays, maybe Hawk is that player.

Green Bay needs it.

"You never know who's going to step up," Capers said. "Clay has normally been our bell cow in those areas. It was nice to see a veteran guy like A.J. step up and have one of his best games. It couldn't have come at a better time."

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Read more from Journal Sentinel: http://www.jsonline.com/sports/stea...yers-b99117032z1-227929361.html#ixzz2hyq0biY5
 
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Mike Vandermause column: Hawk states his case with career-best performance





Oct. 17, 2013
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Packers linebacker A.J. Hawk, right, sacks Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco in the fourth quarter Sunday in Baltimore. / Evan Siegle/Press-Gazette Media

Finally, Green Bay Packers linebacker A.J. Hawk can tell the doubters to shut up. At long last, he has proven the naysayers wrong.

Hawk’s breakout performance in the Packers’ 19-17 victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, during which he recorded three sacks, five tackles for loss and 12 total tackles, was a statement game.

So after the best performance of his professional life, now would be the perfect time for Hawk to proclaim how underappreciated and overlooked he has been.

Right, A.J.?

“Nah,” Hawk said. “I think that’s a pretty arrogant way of thinking if you’re anybody. The truth is, we all won the lottery here.

“We’ve got a pretty good deal going here. We get to play football for a living so, nah, I never sat there and thought ‘woe is me’ or ‘poor me’ for a second.”

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http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com...-Hawk-states-his-case-career-best-performance

Packers: A.J. Hawk flying high at linebacker
GREEN BAY — Linebacker A.J. Hawk took an offseason pay cut. He has been criticized by some Packers fans in the past for a lack of big plays or being a step slow.

Well, Green Bay is getting its money's worth so far this year.

The eighth-year veteran has stepped up big inside and provided a steady presence on a linebacker unit ravaged by injuries heading into Sunday's game against the Cleveland Browns.

He's Mr. Consistency to coach Mike McCarthy.

"A.J. Hawk, he's the same guy every day, and I think that's a huge complement in a professional environment," McCarthy said Thursday. "I would hope that I would be viewed that way when my time's over."

That even-keeled approach may be a reason why Hawk agreed to what amounted to a three-year, $7.25 million pay cut off the five-year, $33.75 million deal he signed in 2011. He didn't care about how he would be perceived on the outside. He's comfortable in Green Bay.

The indentation on the bridge of his nose, imprinted from his helmet after all these years making tackles at Green Bay and at Ohio State, is proof of his experience.

Hawk has the benefit of perspective. When told that a teammate thought that he was overlooked, Hawk responded to reporters in the locker room, "Nah. I think that's a pretty arrogant way of thinking if you're anybody.

"The truth is we all won the lottery here, man," he said. "You guys, us, we got a pretty good deal going here. We get to play football for a living so (no), I never sat there and thought 'woe is me' or 'poor me' for a second."

Through five games, Hawk has 42 tackles and three sacks

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Read more: http://host.madison.com/sports/foot...77d-11e3-ae3f-0019bb2963f4.html#ixzz2i4gnir9E
 
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'Keep calm, carry on'
By Lori Nickel of the Journal Sentinel
Oct. 20, 2013
Green Bay – It was linebacker A.J. Hawk’s turn to address the Packers for the Browns pregame speech and it was a role he embraced to rally the team.

“I had a couple of bullet points in mind,” said Hawk. “It went decent, Ok, but I kind of got off track a little bit. But it was alright, it was fine.

“Believe it or not, I grew up a super-shy kid, I still am at times, but I like to speak in front of groups. But this is, you talk about a tough situation. You’re walking in the middle of the whole team.”

Standing in the middle of the locker room, unsure where to look, Hawk tried to address everybody.

The theme this week was: Keep calm. Carry on.

“It’s good, you’re with your buddies, your friends. It’s best to speak from the heart.”

Cornerback Sam Shields said that there was one little twist, however, to the “Keep Calm, Carry on theme.”

“Chew bubble gum.”

What?

“I don’t know what that means, but that’s what he said,” said Shields.

“Keep calm and chew bubble gum. So I was chewing bubble gum the whole game. I don’t know. It was the theme throughout the week – and I guess bubble gum… I forgot what it does. I’m so sorry. I always chew bubble game anyway.”

This is how you stopped Josh Gordon?

“I was just keeping him from getting the deep balls,” said Shields. “Not let him get the big plays. Just the small, little catches, and we’re right there, to get them on the ground.”

Hawk said this was a game that spoke to Green Bay’s resolve and ability to avoid panic.

“Honestly the poise they had all day was great to see,” said Hawk.

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Read more from Journal Sentinel: http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/228565621.html#ixzz2iMKFRdpa
 
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A.J. Hawk tackles fan at pro-am golf tournament

In non-British Open action the American Century Championship Celeb Pro Am is taking place this week stateside and A.J. Hawk is one of two Green Bay Packers participating along with Aaron Rodgers.

Earlier this week a fan was bro-ing pretty hard and asked Hawk to tackle him (sans pads, of course). Hawk was happy to oblige.

See video: http://www.cbssports.com/golf/eye-on-golf/24626210/aj-hawk-tackles-fan-at-pro-am-golf-tournament
 
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