Oct. 12, 2005
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -
For the fourth straight year, Illinois State will have representation on the Buck Buchanan Watch List after senior defensive end Brent Hawkins was named Wednesday as one of the 16 leading candidates for the annual award, which is presented to the nation's top defensive player in I-AA by The Sports Network.
Hawkins becomes only the second Redbird player to ever be named a candidate for the Buchanan Award, following former linebacker Boomer Grigsby, who was runner-up for the honor in 2003 and placed third in 2002 and 2004.
"Wow, this is just a great honor to even be considered for the award," Hawkins said when hearing the news. "Not only have my current teammates played a huge part in this, but some of it even comes from Boomer. I think with him being on the watch list the last three years, it has really brought a lot of attention to our program and our players."
Hawkins, who is in his second season at Illinois State after attending Purdue, worked on his entire game during the off-season.
"After taking the year off, I really had to get my mindset back," Hawkins said. "I felt last year was part of the rebuilding process for me, because it takes a lot for a person who has been out to get back into the game mentally. I thought last year I was trying to get that back, but after this spring working out with (strength and conditioning) coach (Rohrk) Cutchlow, I began to gain confidence as I gained strength. I have developed a hungrier mentality, and that's what's gotten me to where I am now."
The hungry mentality has taken its toll on opposing quarterbacks. Through six games, Hawkins has registered a Gateway Football Conference best seven quarterback sacks and 11 tackles for loss. He has also forced a school record-tying five fumbles, while recovering one. He also leads the team, and the entire league, in tackles by a defensive lineman with 36, including 18 solos.
"I think Brent Hawkins is one of our marquee players and certainly one of the marquee players in the Gateway Football Conference," head coach Denver Johnson said. "He is a tremendous competitor with great tenacity, God-given ability and great character as well. He certainly deserves to be on this list and I expect that he will fare well when the balloting occurs.
The official "Buchanan Battle" list will undergo two additional revisions prior to the distribution of ballots on November 21st.
The next change will be made on November 2nd, and the final changes will be made just prior to the distribution of ballots.
The winner of the Buchanan Award will be invited to attend the presentation in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Dec. 15.
Hawkins is the second Redbird this season to be named to a watch list for a national award. Senior punter Ryan Hoffman is the only player from I-AA named to the 50-player watch list for the Ray Guy Award, presented to the nation's top punter.
