The Hawk Legacy
Centerville records held by Ryan and A.J. Hawk:
Ryan (Class of 2000)
Points in a game (36)
Season passing yards (1,557)
Career passing yards (5,013)
TD passes in a game (4)
TD passes in a season (15)
TD passes in a career (41)
A.J. (Class of 2002)
Tackles in a game (30)
Tackles in a season (192)
Tackles in a career (583)
FAIRBORN — Considering he once left a national college defensive player of the year award behind at his home near the Ohio State campus when he moved out, A.J. Hawk wasn’t scrambling to pocket souvenirs after Super Bowl XLV.
“I obviously have the cleats and gloves,” said Hawk, a Green Bay Packers linebacker. “Some shirts and hats they gave us. But I didn’t take anything too crazy. I know what happened. It just finished a pretty unique year.”
In a little more than three months, the Centerville High School and Ohio State product has experienced significant changes in his football life.
He has won a Super Bowl with the Packers, been released by that team a month later, re-signed a day after that and lived through the uncertainty of the NFL owners lockout.
But Hawk also has the constant pick-me-up at his offseason home in Columbus, 5½-month-old daughter Lennon, with whom he can now spend more time.
Hawk talked about those aspects of his life on Thursday before he and brother Ryan, who set six Centerville passing records during his career from 1996-1999, appeared at the annual banquet for the Sonny Unger Foundation.
The program, titled “A Night With the Hawk Brothers,” included a Q&A moderated by former Alter and Ohio State linebacker Jerry Rudzinski at the Nutter Center. The Hawks discussed their relationship, their football careers and their time at Centerville, sometimes explaining periodic video clips of their playing performances.
It was the 45th year the Sonny Unger Foundation, formed in honor of the former Centerville football player who was killed in action in Vietnam in 1966, has presented awards to Elks football players. Thursday’s recipients were two-way lineman Michael Bennett (who is headed to Ohio State) and defensive lineman Kyle Rose (West Virginia).
To get to Thursday night and aid in the foundation’s efforts, Hawk had to maneuver the emotions of the ultimate football championship and the business side of the game.
It started Feb. 6, when the Packers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25 in Super Bowl XLV (Hawk made five tackles). A party was organized back at the team hotel with a special musical guest: Kid Rock.
“It was just a regular hotel, so there were about 200 people there, and Kid Rock is playing a full-on show, absolutely wild,” said Ryan Hawk, who is two years older than A.J.
“I had to catch a flight to go to Florida the next day for work, and me and one of my buddies left at 4 or 5 in the morning, and that party, it was not slowing down.”
Hawk reached the Super Bowl after a strange start to the season. He didn’t play a down from scrimmage in the Packers’ opener because of personnel and scheme plans, but he went on to lead the team in tackles, with 125 (bringing his five-year career total to 510 in 80 games).
That was the kind of production fans expected from a No. 5 overall pick, which Hawk became in 2005 following his two-time All-American career at Ohio State.
But Hawk’s pricey contract situation, including a $10 million salary scheduled for 2011, forced the Packers to make a move less than a month after the Super Bowl victory. They released him on March 2, but reports immediately surfaced that Hawk would likely re-sign a restructured deal with the team. He inked that contract the next day.
The Green Bay Press Gazette reported that the five-year deal is worth $33.75 million, including an $8 million signing bonus. But Hawk was never worried about his future with the team.
“I talked with Ted Thompson, our (general manager), before it went public,” Hawk said. “I knew it was coming, but I knew we were already really close to a new deal. I think five or six hours after the release we had a new one.”
Then, on March 11, the owners locked out the players, beginning a series of court decisions that have since upheld the lockout.
Without responsibilities in Green Bay, Hawk has stayed at his home in Columbus, working out at a Columbus-area gym. One of his workout partners is Mike Vrabel, the former Buckeyes linebacker who is the National Football League Players Association representative from the New England Patriots.
Hawk has asked Vrabel for lockout and negotiation information out of curiosity, but there hasn’t been much movement.
“(Owners) want to wait it out and hopefully we crack as players,” Hawk said. “I don’t think that’s gonna happen.”
The offseason has also provided more time for Hawk to spend with his daughter. During the season, he was away from their Green Bay home often.
Now, he’s watching her try to crawl.
“She’s just super happy,” Hawk said. “That’s kind of what everyone says when they meet her, that she’s the happiest baby they’ve seen. The smiles and laughs, and she’s growing week by week.
“It’s crazy how happy she is and how excited she is every day. It’s awesome to wake up to.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7389 or knagel @DaytonDailyNews.com.
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