8A — Wednesday, October 25, 2017
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
After winding path to Michigan,
Hawkins settling in on defense
Brad Hawkins committed
to Michigan over two years
ago on July 3, 2015.
Then ranked as a four-star
athlete
from
New
Jersey,
Hawkins expected to sign
with
the
Wolverines
in
February of 2016 and arrive on
campus that summer.
As it turned out, his path
to Ann Arbor would be longer
than expected.
While
his
grades
were
fine and he was a qualifier,
an
NCAA
Clearinghouse
issue popped up: Hawkins
had
attended
two
high
schools
in
Camden,
and
the
first
school
had
not
submitted his transcript to
the NCAA. Because of the
miscommunication, Hawkins
wouldn’t find out his status
until mid-summer of 2016 at
the earliest — too late for him
to participate in Michigan’s
summer program.
Faced with the decision of
waiting for an answer from
the NCAA — that he couldn’t
even be sure would clear
him — or taking a prep year,
Hawkins chose the latter.
His coaches at Camden High
School helped him look for
a new school that he could
attend
before
arriving
at
Michigan as a member of the
2017 class.
Suffield Academy, led by
head coach Drew Gamere,
quickly stood out as an option.
“I’d been in contact with
one of the coaches and I
think they felt like Brad could
benefit from an extra year
anyway,” Gamere told The
Daily in July. “We had Brad on
campus, and he just struck me
right away as a great kid. Very
humble and eager to learn and
develop his skills — football
being one of them, but then
everything else that comes
with it. The study skills in the
classroom, all that stuff.”
In
initial
conversations,
Gamere sensed Hawkins was
disappointed he wouldn’t be
able to enroll at Michigan as
planned. But that emotion,
according to Gamere, quickly
turned to excitement once
Hawkins
visited
Suffield’s
campus and met his future
teammates and coaching staff.
Gamere
himself,
of
course, was excited for the
opportunity to coach a player
of Hawkins’ caliber — and
personality.
“He was a pleasure to work
with and very coachable, and
I think that for us, it was
the most important thing,”
Gamere said, “because you
don’t always get that with
the guys that are the most
talented.”
Gamere witnessed Hawkins
continue
to
develop
on
the field as he recorded 51
receptions for 868 yards and
11 touchdowns. But the coach
also saw personal growth from
his new star — something that
Jim Harbaugh quickly became
aware of, as well.
“When
Coach
Harbaugh
visited here, he said to us that
he couldn’t believe how much
Brad had grown,” Gamere
said. “He had gone from this
kid that didn’t really say much
and was shy and didn’t talk
much, to a guy that was giving
Coach Harbaugh a tour and
was as popular as anybody on
campus.”
Things
never
wavered
between
Michigan
and
Hawkins, and he finally made
his way to Ann Arbor this past
summer. He’s appeared in
several games thus far, mostly
on special teams as a kick
returner.
When
asked
whether
his
prep
year
gave
him
an
advantage
over
other
freshmen, Hawkins was non-
committal. That’s not to say it
didn’t change him, though.
“It just gave me a better
year academically, basically,”
Hawkins said Tuesday night.
“I got a lot stronger, I got more
mature, so that helped.”
One of the biggest questions
facing Hawkins was which
position he would play in
college. In high school, he
did most of his damage on
offense while moonlighting as
a safety.
He’s
still
practicing
at
multiple spots. But right now,
it appears Hawkins is closer to
figuring things out.
“Right now, I’m playing
VIPER,” he said. “VIPER and
safety.”
Hawkins had already moved
to the secondary entering the
season. But he didn’t start
repping at Michigan’s hybrid
linebacker-safety
position
until
around
when
the
Wolverines played Air Force.
Hawkins recalled that it
wasn’t his decision. One day,
the coaches simply told him
he’d be moving to VIPER.
For someone who already
went through one position
change, it would have been
understandable had Hawkins
faced his next move with
trepidation. After all, another
switch
means
more
time
learning the system, more
time studying the playbook —
and less of a chance to hit the
field.
Hawkins, though, has made
the move with enthusiasm.
“I think that’s where I
can make my money at in
the future,” Hawkins said.
“We made the move, and
everything feels comfortable
right now.”
Hawkins admitted that he
still has to get used to his new
position. He says he was used
to “hanging out in the middle
of the field” as a safety and
needs to improve his blitzing.
But,
according
to
him,
things are still going smoothly.
“Everything’s
falling
in
place right now,” Hawkins
said. “I’m just being patient
and just waiting my turn.”
ORION SANG
Daily Sports Editor