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

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i think the point AKAK was making was that hawk is such a great person that he sees past the disability and just sees a friend. it kind of cheapens that friendship when you write a story about it emphasizing the fact that the kid is handicaped.

at least, thats what i got from it.
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That's my point.... except that it only cheapens the story if we focus too much on the kid being handicapped.

what's special here is that AJ goes out of his way to maintain this relationship because it means so much to MacDonald.
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But that's an assumption... maybe AJ just likes hanging out with the kid... I wouldn't expect him to maintain his relationship with Mark if he were quadriplegic and an asshole, but it still meant a lot to Mark.

Don't kid yourself about the "culture of cool" in which kids grow up today
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I completely agree... but... he probably should have gotten more "brownie points" for shirking the culture of cool when he was in HS than before he became a star football player. What I'm giving AJ 'brownie points' for is remembering where he came from...
 
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KevinBuck said:
what's special here is that AJ goes out of his way to maintain this relationship because it means so much to MacDonald.
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Maybe AJ goes out of his way to maintain the relationship because it means so much to AJ. Ask him. I'll bet he gets as much from the relationship as young Mr. MacDonald does.
 
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A lot of good points have been brought up here. I'm going to have to agree with AkAK and Hiney. The article did make it sound like MacDonald was a charity case for AJ. Clearly, that is not the case. Both of them benefit from their friendship.


But it is a good story. In my opinion, it shows me a lot about AJ's character. Athletes stereotypical consider themselves to be bigtime and better than the average joe. Some of the stories I heard about Andy Katzenmoyer, what I saw and heard from Jonathon Wells and Steve Bellisari, really dampened my opinion of some of these guys. I got the impression that most Ohio State football players thought they were too good for the rest of us. This shows me that Hawk is a real down to earth guy, and not someone stuck on himself.
 
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LB A.J. Hawk (official thread)

By RON MUSSELMAN
BLADE SPORTS WRITER





<CENTER></CENTER>


COLUMBUS - A.J. Hawk is having too much fun at Ohio State.


The All-America linebacker is in no hurry to leave.

Hawk said he never gave much thought to entering the NFL draft a year early, although some draft experts had him rated as a possible first-round pick.

And he is not worried about the big bucks that he may have passed up.

Hawk's only focus is on getting himself prepared for a big senior year.

"I really haven't given it [the NFL] much thought lately," he said.

"That seems so far out of the picture now. I've been looking forward to my senior year for so long. We have 18 starters coming back, so this is going to be a fun place to be around.

"I feel like I am still pretty young. I'm not mentally or physically mature enough to play at the next level."

Some NFL scouts and general managers might beg to differ.

In early March, three months after Hawk announced he would return for his final season, he stole the show during Ohio State's annual Pro Day workouts for senior prospects and up-and-coming underclassmen.

The 6-1, 238-pound Hawk eliminated any previous doubts that may have existed about his speed, having been clocked in the 40-yard dash from 4.46 to 4.50 seconds.

"I did a little bit better than even I expected to do," he said.

"With any luck, I'll be able to duplicate those times again next year."

Hawk, rated as one of the top 25 players in the country by several preseason publications, is the backbone of the Buckeyes' defense.

He will be a leading candidate for the three major defensive awards, including the Butkus, Lombardi and Bednarik hardware.

"A.J. Hawk is a special player," coach Jim Tressel said. "He still has some things left to accomplish at Ohio State."

Hawk, a two-time All-Big Ten pick, has led the Buckeyes in tackles each of the last two years. His 141 tackles a year ago were the most by an OSU player since Chris Spielman's 156 in 1986.

"It's no secret that our defense revolves around A.J. Hawk," defensive tackle Quinn Pitcock said. "He is a great playmaker."

Hawk, a two-year starter who backed up Cie Grant as a freshman on the Buckeyes' national championship team in 2002, is one of nine starters returning on defense for Ohio State, which won five of its last six games to finish 8-4.

The Buckeyes, who will hold their annual spring game April 23, have much higher goals in mind this season.

"Everyone in Columbus and everyone around the country that is an Ohio State fan, has high expectations for us," Hawk said. "So do our coaches and so do the players. We're all excited.

"Every season, the national championship is a goal for us. That's the great part about being at Ohio State. We know if we win all of our games, we're going to go to the national championship game. At some other schools, that's not true."

Hawk anchors a heralded linebacking group that includes Bobby Carpenter, Anthony Schlegel and Mike D'Andrea, who is recovering from knee surgery. "I think we have a chance to be a really good defense," Hawk said. "We just have to make sure we don't go backward and we keep progressing."


http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050410/SPORTS16/504100365
 
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The 6-1, 238-pound Hawk eliminated any previous doubts that may have existed about his speed, having been clocked in the 40-yard dash from 4.46 to 4.50 seconds.

"I did a little bit better than even I expected to do," he said.

"With any luck, I'll be able to duplicate those times again next year."
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Next spring, after A.J. gets an agent, he might be instructed not to run the 40. I wouldn't have him run again after posting those times.
 
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I'm glad A.J. is staying, shows true love for the school especially when he would be the 2nd LB taken in this year draft(Derrick Johnson of Texas being the only one rated higher.)

As a draft class, it's pretty weak at LB, outside of Derrick Johnson it seems that Kevin Burnett out of Tennessee is the only other possible LB to be taken in the 1st round, so A.J. turned down a nice draft pick to return for his senior year.
 
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The blade (ann harbor news south)

I about Shit my pants this morning when I read this article(on line of course), A complete article in the Blade without mentioning Scum, any of the "off field problems, or Scmoe C. This baised rag of a so called newspaper is notorious for degrading the Bucks. Another reason to appriciate Tressel.

Go Bucks
 
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HangOnSloopy said:
I dont really like to pick favorite players for the buckeyes because i love them all but i would have to say that Hawk is my favorite.He is so vital to our defense.
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hawk is on my all time fav list. boys the total package. skills, heart, brains, and just a flat out good person. he's the type of guy that no matter who he played for, you just have to root for.
 
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I gotta love Hawk and Nuge just because I went to H.S. with them. It's awesome how they both became fan favorites. Last year Nuge stole the show as being the most popular Buckeye...this year I think we've got a very large group of guys, all of whom could be considered for being all-time Buckeye greats. It's a pretty amazing group of guys that are going to be playing this year. I'm really excited about it.
 
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