Brent Lee Hawkins (born September 1, 1983) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

who played 2 years in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

and 2 years in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

, until retiring from football in May 2013. He was most recently a member of the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in ...

of the

. He was drafted by the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

in the fifth round of the

2006 NFL Draft The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with add ...

. He played college football at

Illinois State Illinois State University (ISU) is a public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is recognized as one of th ...

Early years

Originally from

Godfrey, Illinois Godfrey is a village in Madison County, Illinois, United States. The population was 17,982 at the 2010 census. Godfrey is located within the Riverbend portion of the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area. Geography Godfrey is located at (38.94809 ...

, Hawkins graduated from

Jersey Community High School Jersey Community High School is a public high school in Jerseyville, Illinois. It is part of the Jersey Community Unit School District 100. Jersey Community High School has an enrollment of approximately 1,100 students and currently employs 96 te ...

in 2001 where he excelled at basketball, football, and track. Hawkins played quarterback, wide receiver and defensive end positions. He recorded career totals of 159 tackles, three sacks, 12 passes defensed, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries. Hawkins was selected as first-team all-state and all-conference as a senior, and was named the Metro-East Area Player of the Year by the

St. Louis Post-Dispatch The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' is a major regional newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, serving the St. Louis metropolitan area. It is the largest daily newspaper in the metropolitan area by circulation, surpassing the ''Belleville News-De ...

in 2000.

College career

Hawkins began his college career at Purdue on a football scholarship before transferring and playing his final two seasons at

Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is recognized as one of th ...

. He was runner-up for the Buck Buchanan Award, presented annually to the top defensive player in I-AA football. Hawkins ranked second in the nation with 17 sacks as a senior, setting school and Gateway Conference records. He was also the

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

for the 2006

Hula Bowl The Hula Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game held annually, usually in January. From inception through the 2021 playing, it was held in Hawaii; since the 2022 edition, it has been played in Orlando, Florida. The game was first st ...

Professional career

Jacksonville Jaguars

In the 2006 NFL season, Hawkins played in six games and had two sacks before he was placed on injured reserve with a season-ending groin injury. During that period, Hawkins became first Jaguars rookie to have a sack in back-to-back games since 2002. In the 2007 NFL season, Hawkins saw action at both defensive end and on special teams. He finished the season with 14 tackles (12 solo), a career-high 3.5 sack, one fumble recovery and 14 QB pressures. His 3.5 sacks ranked third on team and helped the team to rank tied for fourth in the AFC with 37 sacks. In addition, he added nine special teams tackles. The Jaguars released Hawkins on September 2, 2008.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

Hawkins was signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

of the

in April 2010. In his first season in the CFL Hawkins recorded 31 tackles and 3 sacks. Unfortunately, he suffered a right shoulder injury prior to the start of the

2011 CFL season The 2011 CFL season was the 58th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it was the 54th season of the Canadian Football League. The complete schedule was released on February 18 and featured the defending Grey Cup champion Montreal ...

which caused him to miss the entire season. On January 12, 2012 the

announced that they had resigned Brent Hawkins. Hawkins played in 14 of the 18 regular season games during the

2012 CFL season The 2012 CFL season was the 59th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it was the 55th season for the Canadian Football League. The pre-season began on June 13, 2012, and the regular season started on June 29, 2012. Rogers Centre ...

. He was credited with 24 tackles, 4 sacks and 2 fumble recoveries. Entering the

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

training camp Hawkins was still recovering from some scar tissue which had developed in his left shoulder following surgery. On May 15, 2013 the Roughriders announced that Hawkins was retiring from the CFL. Brent Hawkins finished his CFL career with 27 games played, 55 tackles, 2 special teams tackles, 7 sacks, 4 fumble recoveries, and 1 defensive touchdown.

References

External links

Saskatchewan Roughriders bioJacksonville Jaguars bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawkins, Brent 1983 births Living people American football defensive ends Illinois State Redbirds football players Jacksonville Jaguars players People from Godfrey, Illinois People from Jerseyville, Illinois category:Players of American football from Illinois Purdue Boilermakers football players Saskatchewan Roughriders players Sportspeople from Greater St. Louis