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Cornerback6
Optimism Lover
A.J. please don't go to San Fran. It's impossible to look hard in a Niners jersey. :) He is NOT a Niners guy...he needs to be somewhere gritty...like, say Cleveland! (pipe dream)
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OSUBasketballJunkie
Never Forget 31-0
Dispatch
4/21/06
4/21/06
COMMENTARY
Hawks still enjoying sibling rivalry
Friday, April 21, 2006
ROB OLLER
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This new jersey is not a state but a state of mind belonging to Ryan Hawk. On May 5, the Birmingham Steel-Football League 2, a second-level arena league, will become the first pro franchise to wear Bible-themed jerseys during a game. Afterward, the tops will be auctioned, with proceeds going to nonprofit ministries.
On the front of each jersey will appear the name Samson, a strong but flawed character from the Old Testament.
On the back of one, Hawk’s name will be replaced with James, and his number will remain 12, so the reference will be the book of James, Chapter 1, Verse 2, which reads:
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds ..."
The brothers in this case are Ryan and A.J. Hawk. The trials for one have been many. The joy for both has been great.
The average eye sees a galaxysized gulf between the Hawks. The careers of Ryan, the former Ohio University quarterback, and A.J., the Ohio State linebacker, are worlds apart.
A.J., 22, is about to become an NFL top-10 draft pick. Ryan, 24, toils in the obscurity of the developmental league for the Arena Football League.
Earth, say hello to Pluto. The best and the bust.
Except the brothers don’t see it that way. They agree that not all God-given ability is created equal but dismiss the notion that A.J. got the better end of the genetic deal.
"I don’t know if I’m ready to concede that. I don’t know if I want to go on the record and say that," Ryan said this week.
"That’s fine," A.J. answered. "Honestly, I agree. I don’t have any more athletic ability than him."
Talent is a touchy subject in families. Parents know the balancing act between treating their athletes fairly yet differently. One grabs the headlines, the other reaches for his water bottle on the bench. There is nothing fair about the distribution of DNA.
Rather than fight that fact, Keith Hawk let his boys fight it out. A.J. may be blessed with more talent than Ryan, but he was going to have to prove it with his fists.
"We never really got into too many serious fights, where people got hurt, but obviously we would wrestle around," A.J. said. "You have to be a poor loser if you want to be a competitor."
Sibling relationships offer an interesting mix of respect, resentment, love and extreme dislike, all of which surface during competition. Ryan Hawk has lost track of how many times he has thrown a basketball at his brother’s head during a game of one-on-one. There also have been neighborhood boxing matches, sweaty ping-pong challenges and late-night poker games with bluffing that only a brother could see through.
"You could always count on lots of fussing, fighting and arguing as they competed," Keith Hawk said. "There are tennis courts about 100 yards from our house (in Centerville). We could usually hear their matches, not having to look."
What emerged from those bloodlettings was a camaraderie built on mutual respect and humility. What emerged from the camaraderie was a friendship that, as Ryan put it, "goes beyond what you would say are best friends."
When Ryan, who began his college career at Miami University before transferring to Ohio, played his first game for Birmingham this year, A.J. text-messaged his father more than 100 times for game updates.
A.J. never looks down on what others perceive as Ryan’s lack of football success, instead pointing out that his brother didn’t get many breaks along the way. At Miami, Ryan had the misfortune of playing the same position as Ben Roethlisberger.
And Ryan, who makes $200 a game – $250 if the Steeldogs win – does not begrudge A.J. his success, which is soon to reach seven figures.
"I’m trying to do my own thing," Ryan said, adding that his immediate goal is to play well enough to move up to the AFL, preferably with the Columbus Destroyers. "There are breaks in everything, sometimes great and sometimes small. You kind of play the hand you’re dealt. I came (to Miami) in the same recruiting class as Ben Roethlisberger. A.J. backed up Cie Grant and earned that job. Every situation is different for every player."
So Ryan is secure enough not to bristle when someone refers to him as the "other" Hawk.
"Obviously, I’m going to get that," he said.
Just like A.J. got it.
"Growing up all through high school I was known as Ryan’s brother," A.J. said, pausing before delivering what could be taken as both a sign of respect and also a brotherly love jab. "And I didn’t have a problem with that."
Still doesn’t.
Rob Oller is a sports reporter for The Dispatch .
[email protected]
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redskinbucksfan
The brownest of the brown liquors
Well, that's the cherry on the sundae right there. All of his on and off the field accomplishments, and the gratuitous f-you to ESPN. Mr. Hawk, I salute you. 
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LoKyBuckeye
I give up. This board is too hard to understand.
For Packer fans (although he won't be able to wear #47)
I LOVE IT!
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Link
4/25
Hawk is eager to swoop into NFL
Ohio State linebacker tops at his position
By RANDY COVITZ
The Kansas City Star
Hawk
Someone at the NFL scouting combine jokingly asked Ohio State linebacker A.J Hawk whether there’s anyone left in Columbus to play defense.
At least 11 defensive players from Ohio State could be taken in this weekend’s NFL draft, and as many as four may be selected in the first two rounds.
But there’s little doubt Hawk is the best of the Buckeyes.
He has the catchy name, the long, flowing mane and a knack for finding the football. Hawk, the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year in 2005, led the Buckeyes in tackles the last three seasons, including 141 in 2004, and 121 in 2005 when he added 9.5 sacks.
Though he’s just 6 feet 1 and 248 pounds, Hawk ran a 4.59 in the 40-yard dash at the combine and a 4.47 at Ohio State’s Pro Day, showing he can play outside in a 4-3 defense or inside in a 3-4.
The Green Bay Packers, in need of an outside linebacker, are projected to take him with the fifth pick of the draft, and that would be a fitting place for Hawk, the Lombardi Award winner.
“I really haven’t given it too much thought,” Hawk said of his NFL destination. “Any team that wants me, I’ll gladly go. Especially a team like Green Bay, with the tradition they have, the fans they have, it would be unbelievable.”
It’s been six years since a linebacker went as high as fifth in the NFL draft, when Washington took Penn State’s LaVar Arrington second overall in 2000. But in recent years, rookie linebackers have made immediate impacts in the league.
In 2004, the New York Jets’ Jonathan Vilma, the 12th pick of the draft, was the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year; and last year, San Diego’s Shawne Merriman, the 12th overall pick, won that award, while Seattle’s Lofa Tatupu, a second-round choice, helped Seattle to the Super Bowl.
“It’s a position where a lot of times they say they don’t want to draft people too high,” Hawk said, “because they think, ‘How much impact can a linebacker have?’ It’s understandable. We’re not big defensive ends who are going to get 15 to 18 sacks a year. We’re not a running back who’s going to rush for 1,500 yards. I guess you can justify not taking guys too high.
“I think the linebacker position, with all the defenses they’re playing, and with the offenses you have to face — one week you’re facing a spread offense and the next week a team is trying to pound the ball on you — you have to do a little bit of everything. All I want is a chance, regardless where I’m taken.”
Hawk follows in a grand tradition of outstanding Ohio State linebackers, including Randy Gradishar, Pepper Johnson, Andy Katzenmoyer and Chris Spielman. But he brings a little something extra to the game.
“Some of the linebackers we’ve had before were great run stoppers,” said Ohio State teammate and fellow linebacker Bobby Carpenter, another possible first-round pick. “But A.J. does a great job stopping the run, rushing the passer, defending the pass — he can really do it all. He’s the total package.”
Hawk credited his production at Ohio State to teammates such as Carpenter, defensive end Mike Kudla, and two other Buckeyes expected to be drafted on Saturday, safety Donte Whitner and cornerback Ashton Youboty.
“I was trying to get to the ball,” Hawk said. “I play with 10 other guys who are really good. We had two of the most physical safeties in the country playing behind me. I knew if I didn’t make the tackle they were probably going to hit me on their way to make the tackle. So I had to get there first.”
Hawk also is driven by a sense of pride.
“I don’t want to turn on the film and see myself loafing,” Hawk said before last January’s Fiesta Bowl. “I remember sometimes in high school, it’d be embarrassing watching film 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 film and not look fast and not look like I’m playing hard.”
No chance of that. When Cleveland Browns coach Romeo Crennel was asked whether there’s a linebacker in this year’s draft capable of making an immediate impact, he replied:
“There’s one guy,” Crennel said. “The initials are A.J.”
4/25
Hawk is eager to swoop into NFL
Ohio State linebacker tops at his position
By RANDY COVITZ
The Kansas City Star
Hawk
Someone at the NFL scouting combine jokingly asked Ohio State linebacker A.J Hawk whether there’s anyone left in Columbus to play defense.
At least 11 defensive players from Ohio State could be taken in this weekend’s NFL draft, and as many as four may be selected in the first two rounds.
But there’s little doubt Hawk is the best of the Buckeyes.
He has the catchy name, the long, flowing mane and a knack for finding the football. Hawk, the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year in 2005, led the Buckeyes in tackles the last three seasons, including 141 in 2004, and 121 in 2005 when he added 9.5 sacks.
Though he’s just 6 feet 1 and 248 pounds, Hawk ran a 4.59 in the 40-yard dash at the combine and a 4.47 at Ohio State’s Pro Day, showing he can play outside in a 4-3 defense or inside in a 3-4.
The Green Bay Packers, in need of an outside linebacker, are projected to take him with the fifth pick of the draft, and that would be a fitting place for Hawk, the Lombardi Award winner.
“I really haven’t given it too much thought,” Hawk said of his NFL destination. “Any team that wants me, I’ll gladly go. Especially a team like Green Bay, with the tradition they have, the fans they have, it would be unbelievable.”
It’s been six years since a linebacker went as high as fifth in the NFL draft, when Washington took Penn State’s LaVar Arrington second overall in 2000. But in recent years, rookie linebackers have made immediate impacts in the league.
In 2004, the New York Jets’ Jonathan Vilma, the 12th pick of the draft, was the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year; and last year, San Diego’s Shawne Merriman, the 12th overall pick, won that award, while Seattle’s Lofa Tatupu, a second-round choice, helped Seattle to the Super Bowl.
“It’s a position where a lot of times they say they don’t want to draft people too high,” Hawk said, “because they think, ‘How much impact can a linebacker have?’ It’s understandable. We’re not big defensive ends who are going to get 15 to 18 sacks a year. We’re not a running back who’s going to rush for 1,500 yards. I guess you can justify not taking guys too high.
“I think the linebacker position, with all the defenses they’re playing, and with the offenses you have to face — one week you’re facing a spread offense and the next week a team is trying to pound the ball on you — you have to do a little bit of everything. All I want is a chance, regardless where I’m taken.”
Hawk follows in a grand tradition of outstanding Ohio State linebackers, including Randy Gradishar, Pepper Johnson, Andy Katzenmoyer and Chris Spielman. But he brings a little something extra to the game.
“Some of the linebackers we’ve had before were great run stoppers,” said Ohio State teammate and fellow linebacker Bobby Carpenter, another possible first-round pick. “But A.J. does a great job stopping the run, rushing the passer, defending the pass — he can really do it all. He’s the total package.”
Hawk credited his production at Ohio State to teammates such as Carpenter, defensive end Mike Kudla, and two other Buckeyes expected to be drafted on Saturday, safety Donte Whitner and cornerback Ashton Youboty.
“I was trying to get to the ball,” Hawk said. “I play with 10 other guys who are really good. We had two of the most physical safeties in the country playing behind me. I knew if I didn’t make the tackle they were probably going to hit me on their way to make the tackle. So I had to get there first.”
Hawk also is driven by a sense of pride.
“I don’t want to turn on the film and see myself loafing,” Hawk said before last January’s Fiesta Bowl. “I remember sometimes in high school, it’d be embarrassing watching film 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 film and not look fast and not look like I’m playing hard.”
No chance of that. When Cleveland Browns coach Romeo Crennel was asked whether there’s a linebacker in this year’s draft capable of making an immediate impact, he replied:
“There’s one guy,” Crennel said. “The initials are A.J.”
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