Hawk Hits Awards Circuit – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/7/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 7, 2005
Tuesday is the first journal entry of A.J. Hawk, the Buckeye linebacker, co-captain and team MVP. First up, the award tour is the Rotary Lombardi Award in Houston on Wednesday. Then the senior from Centerville, Ohio, is off to Orlando for the College Football Awards Show on Thursday. The Cingular ABC All-America Team is Friday and the Butkus Award is Saturday. The College Football Awards Show will be televised live Thursday from 7-9 p.m. on ESPN and the Cingular All-America Team will be televised Saturday at 2 p.m. on ABC Sports.
Tuesday, Dec. 6
I had to be up at 4:30 this morning to be on a 6:20 flight to go to Houston with my parents for the Lombardi Award. We got here and met two of the other finalists – Rod Wright (Texas) and Elvis Dumerville (the Nagurski winner from Louisville) – at the airport and then came back to the hotel for a little bit. At about noon, we had a little lunch and an orientation about the award and what we were going to do today.
I didn’t know much about the award and didn’t realize it helps the American Cancer Society. I didn’t learn that until today. Each year they give a lot of money to the American Cancer Society. Also, four players from Ohio State have won this award five times and I think that is more than any other school, so it is something special just to be here and it is a big honor for me. I am looking forward to tomorrow’s events.
After that we went to the Burnett Bayland Home for Juveniles. The kids there were between the ages of 11 and 17. Each one of the finalists spoke to the kids for a little while and let them know how we felt when we were their age and about how important it is to make good decisions in life. I signed some autographs with Miss Texas, the girl that was there with us. Then we went to a pizza place for a snack and then headed off to be on an ESPN radio show for a little bit.
I had met Rod Wright once before at another function like this out in Phoenix. He is a great guy and obviously, I got to play against him and have known him for a little while. Elvis Dumerville, from Louisville, is a great guy, and obviously I have seen him play this year. You see him all the time on ESPN. He has 20 sacks this year and is coming close to breaking the 24-sack record in college. Paul Posluszny (Penn State) came in later tonight because he had a test. I met him once before at the Big Ten Kickoff in Chicago. All the guys are great guys and it is good to sit there and bounce ideas back and forth with them.
Tonight there was a reception for the finalists with the people who put on the award and other VIPs. Tomorrow, I have to get up at 6:30 and do it all over again.
