Donald Hawkins (born April 22, 1992) is a gridiron football tackle for the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the East Division of the Canad ...

of 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 ...

(CFL). He played college football at

Northwest Mississippi Community College Northwest Mississippi Community College is a public community college in Senatobia, Mississippi. It was founded in 1928. As of August 2008, Northwest's enrollment exceeds 7,100 students. There are approximately 3,000 students on the Senatobia ca ...

and the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

. Hawkins has also been a member of the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...

, New York Jets,

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The ...

San Antonio Commanders The San Antonio Commanders were a professional American football franchise based in San Antonio, Texas, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF). The league began play in February 2019. The team played their home g ...

Arizona Hotshots The Arizona Hotshots were a professional American football franchise based in Tempe, Arizona, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), which played one season from February 2019 to April 2019. They played their h ...

Orlando Apollos The Orlando Apollos were a professional American football franchise based in Orlando, Florida, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), which began play in February 2019. The team played its home games at Spectru ...

, and

Memphis Express The Memphis Express was a professional American football franchise based in Memphis, Tennessee. It was a member of the Alliance of American Football (AAF) during its single season in 2019. They played their home games at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stad ...

Early years

Hawkins played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

at Rosa Fort High School in

Tunica, Mississippi Tunica is a town in and the county seat of Tunica County, Mississippi, United States, near the Mississippi River. Until the early 1990s when casino gambling was introduced in the area, Tunica had been one of the most impoverished places in the Un ...

. He played multiple positions on the offensive and defensive lines. He was an 1st team all-district selection in 2008 and 2009. Hawkins was named team captain as a senior in 2009 when his team finished as co-district champions with a 6-5 record and appeared in the 4A playoffs.

College career

Hawkins first played college football for the

Rangers from 2010 to 2011. He was named a 2011

National Junior College Athletic Association The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...

First-team All-American, First-team All State, First-team All Region 23 team, Offensive Line MVP In Region 23. He transferred to play for the

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and a ...

from 2012 to 2013. Hawkins started 24 of 25 career games during his time with the Longhorns. He was named a 2013 First-team All-Big 12 selection.

Professional career

Philadelphia Eagles

Hawkins signed with the

on May 10, 2014 after going undrafted in the 2014 NFL Draft. He was released by the Eagles on August 23, 2014.

Cleveland Browns

Hawkins was claimed off waivers by the

on August 25, 2014. He was released by the Browns on August 30, 2014.

Dallas Cowboys

Hawkins signed with the

on August 31, 2014. He was waived by the Cowboys on May 8, 2015.

Miami Dolphins

Hawkins was signed by the

on May 11, 2015. He was released by the Dolphins on September 4 and signed to the team's practice squad on September 8, 2015. He was released by the Dolphins on November 12, 2015.

San Francisco 49ers

On November 16, 2015, the

signed Hawkins to their practice squad.

Carolina Panthers

On January 26, 2016, Hawkins signed a futures contract with the

. He was released by the Panthers on November 25, 2016.

New York Jets

On November 30, 2016, Hawkins was signed to the New York Jets' practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on December 20, 2016. He was released by the Jets on May 7, 2017.

Kansas City Chiefs

On June 16, 2017, Hawkins signed with the

. He was waived/injured on September 2, 2017, and placed on injured reserve. He was released on November 14, 2017.

Alliance of American Football

On January 3, 2019, Hawkins signed with the

of the Alliance of American Football (AAF). He was waived on January 7, 2019, and subsequently claimed off waivers by the

. He was then traded to the

on January 14, 2019, in exchange for wide receiver Freddie Martino. He was waived during final roster cuts on January 30, 2019. The

signed him to a contract on February 19, 2019, but waived him on February 21.

Montreal Alouettes

Hawkins signed with the

of the CFL on February 3, 2021. He was placed on the suspended list on July 6, 2021.

References

External links

Texas Longhorns bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawkins, Donald Living people 1992 births American football offensive linemen African-American players of American football Players of American football from Memphis, Tennessee Players of Canadian football from Memphis, Tennessee Northwest Mississippi Rangers football players Texas Longhorns football players Philadelphia Eagles players Cleveland Browns players Dallas Cowboys players Miami Dolphins players San Francisco 49ers players Carolina Panthers players New York Jets players Kansas City Chiefs players San Antonio Commanders players Arizona Hotshots players Orlando Apollos players Memphis Express (American football) players Montreal Alouettes players 21st-century African-American sportspeople