Blue White Illustrated

Hawkins brings leadership skills to Nittany Lions E very recruiting class has its share of leaders, but once in a while, Penn State signs a player who stands out from the rest. In 2013, tight end Adam Breneman and quarterback Christian Hackenberg won over Penn State fans before they ever hit the field. Injuries and other factors af- fected their playing careers, but the pair will always be remembered for sticking with the program despite everything that was going on around it. Their con- fidence helped pave the way for players such as defensive end Shane Simmons, who arrived in 2016, and quarterback Sean Clifford, a leader in the class that followed. This year, Penn State's coaching sta7 has assembled another excellent group of prospects, a few of whom could hold the title of captain down the road. But if there's one player in the Class of 2018 who stands out, it's defensive tackle Ae- neas Hawkins. His high school coach, John Rodenberg, said the four-star prospect is a natural leader, and there's one trait in particular that makes him ef- fective in that capacity. "He just knows how to bring guys to- gether," Rodenberg said. "For our team, he knew how to communicate with not just the upperclassmen, not just the starters and the guys he's been playing with since his freshman season, but also the guys that weren't getting as much playing time. He always upli8ed those around him, no matter what their role was. He helped make sure that everyone not only understood their role, but knew how important they were to the team." A native of Cincinnati, the 6-foot-2, 280-pound Hawkins attended Ohio high school football powerhouse Archbishop Moeller, which belongs to the ultra-com- petitive Greater Catholic League South. How competitive, you ask? Well, in 2016, MaxPreps.com ranked the conference second-toughest in the country. The numbers back up that assertion. Looking only at the four years during which Hawkins attended Moeller, 13 players signed with schools in the Foot- ball Bowl Subdivision. When you include the other three teams in the south divi- sion, 39 prospects went on to play at col- lege football's highest level, one of whom was Cli7ord, a graduate of rival St. Xavier. It was because of his team's depth that Hawkins, the son of former Cincinnati Bengals defensive back Artrell Hawkins, didn't start for the varsity until his junior season. He went on to record 70 tackles and eight sacks that year, earning 6rst- team All-Conference and second-team All-District honors. He planned on fol- lowing up that season with an even better senior campaign, but it never came to be. During preseason practice last August, CLICK HERE to see video of Hawkins in action. | chart. But if any of the Nittany Lions' three four-star freshman defensive tack- les – Aeneas Hawkins and P.J. Mustipher are the others – are to earn spots in the rotation this coming fall, they will have to do battle with redshirt freshmen Fred Hansard and Corey Bolds and the other young linemen who are cueing up behind veterans Kevin Givens and Robert Wind- sor. But Culpepper isn't one to shy away from competition. "I want to work on my technique. I want to work on learning the playbook. I want to work on getting bigger, stronger, faster. I want to work on getting a8er some of the other teams in the Big Ten, winning that Big Ten championship, winning that national championship," he said. "Those are two things that I think Penn State is right on the cusp of. They've already won the Big Ten, so now let's win the show. I think that's the biggest thing I want to do when I get there." ■ THE HAWKINS FILE STATS Had 70 tackles as a junior, including eight sacks, and three forced fumbles... Totaled 60 tackles and 12 sacks as a sophomore... Finished his career with 25 sacks despite missing his entire senior season with an injury... Served as team captain his senior season HONORS Named a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, as well as the No. 22 defensive tackle in the Class of 2018 and No. 13 prospect in Ohio... Received All-City and All-Region honors from TriStateFootball.com following his junior season... Played for U-19 National Team USA in International Bowl IX... Earned varsity letters in track and field and eight-man rugby

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