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

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Went out with a few friends from High School last night. One of which played football for Centerville and was on the team with A.J. He was telling me how fundemental A.J. was, and that he NEVER lost composure and just always knew exactly what he was supposed to be doing, and did it.

His exact words were, "A.J. wasn't the hardest hitting guy i'd been tackled by. He never tried to spear you with his helmet, no matter what, he always used perfect technique."...then he went on to say, "Actually, getting tackled by A.J. was weird, because it was very comfortable. He would just stick to the fundementals of taclking and had them perfected. He always made the perfect tackle. When he would tackle you, he would just bring you down to the ground, every time. He would never miss the tackle. He wouldn't always hit you hard, but when he got a finger on you, you knew you were going down. Nothing you could do about it."

It's hard for me to hear somebody say that getting tackled by A.J. Hawk was confortable, but maybe just that's why he misses so few tackles.

He went on to say that he had no doubt AJ was going to play in the NFL, even back in high school. Mostly because of how well he knew the game, and knew what he was doing. Add that to the fact that God gave him all the physical tools to play football...and you've got the best linebacker in college football this year.
 
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12/31/05

OHIO STATE | NOTEBOOK
Hawk laments coming to end of college fun


SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Linebacker A.J. Hawk sounds as if he might have to be dragged kicking and screaming away from college football.

Though he has a certain NFL future ahead, Hawk was almost morose this week talking about the Fiesta Bowl against Notre Dame on Monday being his final collegiate game.

"People told me when I got here that it would go fast and I knew it would," he said. "I’ve had a lot of fun while I’ve been here and I don’t want to move on, but I know I have to."

Some players might look forward to playing professionally, making millions of dollars and not having to worry about going to class. But that’s not Hawk, says his friend and roommate.

"From everything I’ve heard, there’s not that same sort of team, ‘Ohio State unity’ thing at the next level," center Nick Mangold said, "and he loves the guys here and loves having fun with them, and I think that’s the biggest thing about him.

"It’s just how much fun he’s having. He’s doing exactly what he wants to do — play football and go to school — and there’s nothing better in his mind.

And that’s what I love, because that means he’s not going to run away from me once we get done here and we have to move on in June, that he’s not going to just leave me in the dust and never talk to me again."

Hawk said what he’ll miss most is playing with a group of guys who have grown very close.
"I don’t think you could ever get a group of guys together like we have here," he said. "We all get along, and when we’re on the field we have so much fun together. I don’t think you’ll be able to find that anywhere else."
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forgive me if this has already been posted, but just saw this pic of AJ getting interviewed by his girlfriend..

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Surprised no one has posted this yet... From the Cleveland PD, great article about Hawk
http://www.cleveland.com/osufootball/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/sports/113610791579670.xml&coll=2

Relentless pursuit

A.J. Hawk plays all-out, from sideline to sideline. With his speed, talent and determination, no play is out of his range, as many runners have discovered over the past four years
Sunday, January 01, 2006Doug Lesmerises
Plain Dealer Reporter
Centerville, Ohio — The remote in his right hand, Ron Ullery rewinds the game tape. In moments like these, A.J. Hawk's fear was born. Frozen on the 13-inch television in Ullery's of- fi ce at Centerville High is the evidence, a 6-year-old sequence from Hawk's sophomore year of high school.
It could be any play, the remote in the hand of anyone. Ullery, his high school coach. His older brother Ryan. A 10-yearold in a No. 47 jersey who spends every fall Saturday on the couch with the Buckeyes. They're all watching.
Did A.J. Hawk go hard that play? Did he go hard enough for his brothers, his parents, his fans, his friends, his coaches and his teammates?
Did he go hard enough for himself?
Therein lies the fear, the fear that created the beast, one of the best college football players in America, one of the great linebackers in Ohio State history. "I don't want to turn on the fi lm and see myself loafing," Hawk said. "I remember sometimes in high school, it'd be embarrassing watching fi lm because lots of times I was playing both ways and I was so dead tired that sometimes I didn't look fast.
"And I'm scared to death to turn on the fi lm and not look fast and not look like I'm playing hard."
He draws lines in life, those things that make him faster, stronger, better, truer — and those that don't. What matters drives him to excess, what matters not is dismissed, and Hawk is the only arbiter.
"There's a right way to play football with A.J.," Ullery said, "and then [ there are] all the other ways."
No one expects more of Hawk than himself. A two-time, fi rst-team All-American, his Ohio State career ends with M onday's Fiesta Bowl. His parents still beg him to embrace the warm glow of satisfaction. Friends and family fi nd his brand of dedication as natural as it is inexplicable. Hawk treats his passion like penance.
"He never really e x plained it to me, but it's one of those things, there's no reason in asking him, because you know why he's doing it," said John Thomas, his college roommate and best friend since kindergarten. "He takes something that's really hard and makes it harder. Just so he can make sure he's going to get better."
Hawk's parents credit the teachers and coaches that earned the undying respect of the Hawk boys. His coaches defer to Hawk's upbringing in a community and a home that provided constant support.
Centerville, population 23,000, with an historic, upscale downtown spelled "Centreville," is a place for achievers. The high school is as accomplished in drama, band and academics as it is in athletics. Kirk Herbstreit and Mike Nugent also played football here, 2 0 miles south of Dayton, before they were Buckeyes, but the school produces successful teams more often than All-Americans.
In a seven-house cul de sac a mile from the high school, the Hawk family home is more than comfortable, with a vaulted ceiling, a roaring fi replace and a fl at screen television in the living room, and a pool table, poker table, and oh yes, the Lombardi Trophy down the steps in the finished basement.
The 40-pound block of granite, the one individual national award Hawk won of the fi ve for which he was nominated, sits on a wooden table nex t to his Ohio State MVP trophy for this season and the 2 004 Fiesta Bowl MVP trophy. It's no secret the Hawks think the Butkus Award, given to the nation's best linebacker, should crowd the table as well. The secret is how much Hawk himself wanted to win the award given to P enn State's Paul P osluszny.
"That hurt bad," his mother, Judy, said.
A.J. Hawk never let on, expressing respect yet disdain for individual glories at every turn. It re fl ects his dichotomy when it comes to the outside world — he has no use for other opinions and at the same time cares more than you'll ever know. Hawk wanted the Butkus, but then would have ignored it.
"He never would have carried it around," his father, Keith said.
In the closet hang two unworn Centerville varsity jackets, the tags still on them, neither Ryan nor A.J. having ever tried them on. Away from the team, Hawk never wears Ohio State T-shirts, caps or rings. He signs every last autograph asked of him, then sneaks into movies and restaurants with his head down. Since his time dominating the Pee Wee football ranks and starting for a national championship AAU basketball team, Hawk has forbidden his parents to cheer for him in the stands. The rule still stands, though clapping for team touchdowns and occasional bear hugs from Bobby Carpenter's father Rob are acceptable ex ceptions.
"We let the cheering come to us," Keith said. A.J. Hawk craves the victories, then shuns the spoils.
Hawk is surrounded by a world he at times can barely stand, his intolerance and lack of empathy as integral to his success as his speed and strength.
"When guys don't play as hard as they can or practice as hard as they can, it bothers him," Ullery said. "He wishes everybody would do it the right way, because then they would fi nd out how good they can be. He doesn't understand not working as hard as you can." Within his rules, Hawk's fanaticism covers every detail.
Look no further than the Ohio State media guide. The photo of Hawk nex t to his bio is a softer, short-haired version of the face of the country's No. 4 team. It's from his freshman year. Guide photos are snapped between two-a-day practices in August. For three years, Hawk refused to surrender his rest period.
"Use the old photo," he instructed.
Photos don't matter. Dismissed.
Look next at his height. 6-1. Down from the 6-2 listed his freshman year. M easured somewhere between the heights, Hawk requested the inch be lopped off. K eith Hawk asked him why.
"I don't ever want to meet somebody and they go, ‘You're not as tall as I thought you'd be,'" he told his father.
"He doesn't like anything false," Keith Hawk said. "Nothing false. He wants it all to be better. He wants to give something better than anyone ex pects."
No exaggerations, no excuses. Carpenter hopping off the field during the Michigan game with a broken fi bula was a Hawk kind of moment. He abhors players who stay down on the fi eld, and has told his parents, "If I don't come off the field, it's because I'm paralyzed."
He's both too coachable and almost offended by instruction, sure to take a 6-inch step at a 45 -degree angle if he's told to take a 6-inch step at a 45 -degree angle. Ullery would remind him to let his talent flow.
His high school linebackers coach, Larry Noffsinger, remembers the moments when he did have to tell Hawk twice.
"If you ever got on him, he was insulted by it," Noffsinger said, "because he prided himself on, "If I'm told something, I do that.' He did not like to be chewed out. It wasn't a matter of he rebelled. It was actually just the opposite. He got mad and he became even more intense."
He is stubborn to a strength. One night, he drove with his father to pick up a pizza, each insisting the other run in to get it. They drove home without it.
And he does not forget. On Senior Day, he was the only Buckeye to wear his helmet while greeting his parents before the game and singing "Carmen, Ohio," afterward. Fans thought he was hiding tears. Hawk doesn't hide. At Centerville, helmets don't come off, so the rule was added to the Hawk handbook.
"It's easy to forget that mentality when you go to college because everyone is lazy," Ryan Hawk said. "It's true. They're all All-State and All-American and feel they're the best player. The good players remember what got them there. G uys like A.J. keep doing it."
Hawk hurts only when he's taken away from his game. He started his senior high school season by tearing the posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee while punting. He had never been injured. The diagnosis did bring tears.
"It was the first time I saw him cry," Judy Hawk said. "Maybe not the first time ... maybe when the hamster died."
With his Ohio State scholarship in hand, fans figured Hawk's high school career was over after the knee injury. The assumptions only angered him. After arthroscopic surgery, he worked with a physical therapist every day, sometimes twice a day, for 31/ 2 weeks. W earing a $ 1,5 00 knee brace, he not only returned ahead of schedule, but fi lled in at quarterback his fi rst game back. The fi nal game of that season, he played as a shotgun quarterback and rushed for 19 7 yards.
Hawk is now the godfather for one of the children of that personal trainer. Jamie Rodman worked with Hawk the rest of his senior year, the prep for Ohio State continuing even through a lightning storm.
"I told him, ‘We ought to go in,'" Rodman said, "and he looks at me and says, 'What a better way to go out if you had to go, out here trying to get better. I'm finishing.'"
Every morning on his national award tour earlier this month, Hawk was up at 5:30 a.m. to lift. In high school, he refused to accompany Thomas' family on a Florida vacation until he knew a gym was nearby. After late nights out, he rises earlier and lifts harder to pre-empt questions about his priorities. The M onday after the M ichigan win, assistant John P eterson found Hawk idling in the parking lot at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center at 6 a.m., waiting for a workout.
He owned the black and yellow weight room at Centerville, where two sets of adjustable 105 -, 110- and 1 2 0-pound dumbbells sit in a rack, remnants from the Hawk era. The school bought them after Hawk curled everything they had.
"But he didn't ask for them," Ullery said. "He never would have asked for them."
Ullery hits play again. This is a favorite highlight, for the coach and the Hawk family. There is nothing to fear. The oldest Hawk brother, Matt, has broken the sequence into a threeframe keepsake.
The moment is of Ryan and A.J. together, from the best two years of Hawk football — the years Ryan, as a junior and senior, and A.J., as a freshman and sophomore, played together at Centerville.
Ryan went on to play quarterback at Miami ( Ohio) , then transferred to Ohio University when Ben Roethlisberger blocked his path. But if P urdue quarterback Drew Brees had turned pro after his junior season, the Boilermakers would have offered Ryan a scholarship. And Keith is certain his younger son would have followed his brother if Ryan had gone to a Big Ten school.
They never played together in college, yet they always played for each other.
"You don't want to have to tell your brother you had a bad day," Ryan said. "Fortunately, I don't think A.J. has had that in four years."
Ryan will soon join the Birmingham Steeldogs in Arena Football L eague 2 . A.J. is one day away from his Fiesta Bowl finale and four months from the first round of the NFL draft.
Both sense that the best is behind them. A.J. Hawk would stay in college forever if he could. He would have stayed in high school with Ryan, always an E lk with another Hawk by his side.
He'd stay wherever there are games to play and teammates he respects. More people will watch him in the NFL , but they'll care less about his fear and more about his highlights. With each advancing level, the game changes, and Hawk does not.
John Thomas said his best friend is an even better person than he is a player. "It sounds like I'm idolizing the guy, but in a way you do because it's so hard to be that good of a person in that situation," Thomas said. But Hawk is football fi rst, his fear giving rise to the moments that defi ne him.
Like this play on the screen in Ullery's office.
As Ryan Hawk is tackled, the opponent lies on his legs, unwilling to let him up as Ryan struggles to break free. Another Hawk bursts into the screen, sophomore A.J., wearing No. 34, grabbing the opponent and tearing him off Ryan's legs.
"Don't mess with my brother," Ullery said, chuckling.
On the next play, Ryan breaks a tackle and lurches into the end zone. As he turns back to the fi eld, he catches a teammate who is fl ying through the air, already there to leap into his arms in celebration. This is fear's reward.
Ryan Hawk turns to find his younger brother. A.J Hawk got there fast.
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So Charlie Weis thinks A.J. looks "pretty good on tape." Wait until tomorrow when he gets to see him live, full speed. I've said this before, but I hope everyone makes sure to truly appreciate what they are watching. Players like Hawk, combining athletic ability with technique, intensity, and having a great attitude on top of it, are rare. I have no doubt that his last game as a Buck will be his best.
 
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Good article on ESPN(With the exception of a few things about the robbery of his apartment) about AJ...

ESPN said:
This is the part of being one of the most accomplished linebackers in Ohio State football history that A.J. Hawk hates: He's sitting in the audience at the Lombardi Award ceremonies, tugging uncomfortably on the collar of his rental tuxedo, listening to OSU assistant coach Luke Fickell say embarrassingly nice things about him, all the while wishing he could just be back in Columbus where his teammates began their preparations for the Jan. 2 kickoff against Notre Dame in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

"I hate to miss practice, for whatever reason," Hawk said. "Then, to hear coach Fickell say that stuff about me, it was kind of weird."
i_hawk_275.jpg

Brad Schloss/Icon SMI
A.J. Hawk is the 2005 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.

It's not that Hawk didn't appreciate being selected the nation's best interior lineman or linebacker, and it's not that he didn't have a place on his mantel for the 45-pound hunk of granite that goes to the Lombardi winner.

After all, two weeks before Hawk took home that honor, he suddenly found himself significantly lighter in the possessions department after thieves broke into the house he rents and lifted assorted electronic equipment and other personal items, including $3,000 cash from Hawk's room.

Which brings us back to that aspect of being one of the most accomplished linebackers in Ohio State football history that A.J. Hawk hates.

The notoriety.

Alarms went off among Buckeye Nation when police reports detailed how much money Hawk lost, sparking debate about how he could have accumulated such a windfall.

After all, it was just a year ago at this time that OSU quarterback Troy Smith was suspended from the MasterCard Alamo Bowl for taking $500 from a booster.

And Hawk was, after all, seen exchanging pleasantries with NFL super-agent Drew "Next Question" Rosenhaus after the Buckeyes' Oct. 29 victory at Minnesota.

"That was pretty unbelievable to me," Hawk said. "Everybody was jumping to conclusions about the money, but it was really no big deal. I mean, it was a lot of money, but I had nothing to hide. Every month, I make some money off my scholarship check after I pay my rent, which is about $400 a month. The leftover goes in my pocket. My parents have been good to pay for my food, my car and my gas. I pretty much save [the rest], and I was in the process of going to the bank with it."

The thieves got there first, which really rankled Hawk, because ever since he stepped into Ohio State's starting lineup as a sophomore, he's specialized in being there first, preventing anyone on the other side from getting away with anything.

That's why Hawk has led the Buckeyes in tackles the past three seasons to rank fifth in career stops at OSU with 382, including 37½ tackles for loss.
Hawk saved his best for his final season, winning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors and joining Heisman Trophy-winner Reggie Bush as the only unanimous selections on The Associated Press All-America team.
"He is an impressive-looking kid," Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis said of Hawk. "He handles himself very well and looks pretty good on tape. You don't win the Lombardi Award by not being a good player. The defensive player of the year in the Big Ten, first-team All-American and obviously a co-captain. He is the leader of their defense. He is a really good player. He is physical and can run. He shows up on a whole bunch of plays."

So many, that Hawk's teammates were stung to the point of irritation when other players won the three additional national awards for which Hawk was a finalist. He came up empty on the Lott Trophy and the Bednarik and Butkus awards, with none rankling Hawk's buddies more than the selection of Penn State's Paul Posluszny as the Butkus recipient as the nation's best linebacker.

"I don't understand how you give it to a guy who's had one [good] year," OSU middle linebacker Anthony Schlegel said. "[Posluszny] hasn't done what A.J. has done over his career here. To say he's a better linebacker than A.J. Hawk, I completely disagree."

Hawk's other running mate at linebacker, Bobby Carpenter, was similarly steamed.
<!---------------------PULL-QUOTE TABLE (BEGIN)-------------------->
<table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr valign="top"> <td width="4"><spacer type="block" height="1" width="3"></td> <td>[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]“[/FONT]</td> <td width="225">[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]He just goes about his business and works hard and tries to get better every day, and that's why you see the results from him over time that have made him one of the best to ever play here. [/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]”[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="4"><spacer type="block" height="1" width="3"></td> <td>
</td> <td width="225">[FONT=Times,serif]—[/FONT][FONT=Times,serif]Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, on A.J. Hawk[/FONT]</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <!---------------------PULL-QUOTE TABLE (END)-------------------->"I'm not too sure how you can be Big Ten [Defensive] Player of the Year, a unanimous first-team All-American, and not win the Butkus or Lott or Bednarik," Carpenter said. "He should have won them all, in my opinion."
Which brings us back to that aspect of being one of the most accomplished linebackers in Ohio State history that Hawk hates.

"I appreciate Anthony and Bobby saying that, but really, it's no big deal to me," Hawk said. "It doesn't bother me that I didn't win those other awards. Winning the Butkus would have been nice, but Paul had a great year. All of those other guys did. I got the chance to meet them while I was traveling around to all the banquets and they're all good guys and great players."

That same description summarizes Ohio State coach Jim Tressel's feelings about Hawk, who came to OSU so unheralded at his position that rumors swirled about him being immediately shifted to fullback.

"I guess that says something about how much attention should be paid to recruiting rankings," Tressel said. "What's made A.J. so special is that he doesn't really pay attention to what anyone says about him, whether it's good or bad. He just goes about his business and works hard and tries to get better every day, and that's why you see the results from him over time that have made him one of the best to ever play here."

Heady company since Hawk's predecessors at linebacker include former Buckeyes Randy Gradishar, Tom Cousineau, Pepper Johnson, Chris Spielman and Andy Katzenmoyer.

Each of those players made at least one Rose Bowl appearance during their careers, which used to be the gold standard for team performance at OSU. Times are different now in the Bowl Championship Series era, when finishing No. 1 is the be-all-end-all of everything in Division I-A.

Hawk checked that item off his list as a freshman contributor in the Buckeyes' 31-24 double-overtime triumph against Miami in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl.

This return trip to Tempe and the matchup against Notre Dame is perhaps the most anticipated Ohio State game since then, rivaling the summer buildup to OSU's 25-22 loss to Texas on Sept. 10 in Ohio Stadium.
Hawk was breathtaking that night in the Horseshoe, finishing with 12 tackles, including three for loss and two quarterback sacks, one forced fumble and another which he recovered, plus an interception and 24-yard return to set up an OSU field goal.

His target Jan. 2 will be Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn, which brings us back to that aspect of being one of the most accomplished linebackers in Ohio State history that Hawk hates.

That's because Hawk has been dating Quinn's oldest sister, Lauren, since the summer.

"Brady likes A.J. a lot," Lauren Quinn told Jay Crawford on ESPN's "Cold Pizza." "He respects him very much as a player. I think he's glad I'm with someone who's a good guy. He's fine with it."

A lot more fine with it than Hawk is with the additional notoriety the relationship is sure to bring to the Fiesta Bowl's buildup.

"I'm sure it makes for a good story," Hawk said. "I figured it would probably get out eventually. It's not going to change anything on the field, of course. Everything is going to be the same for him and for me. It will just make our moms a little more nervous."

Bruce Hooley covered the Big Ten for 18 years and now hosts a daily talk show on WBNS-AM 1460 in Columbus, Ohio.
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