Michael Hawkins scouting report

The following scouting report on Carrollton (Texas) Turner cornerback Michael Hawkins was compiled following Turner's 2-hour long practice on Saturday, Sept. 1, 2001.

When scouting a cornerback prospect, college coaches look for a number of key attributes. But the five key areas are: tackling, max coverage, zone coverage, range and the ability to fend off blocks.

Being superior in a single area doesn't necessarily make a cornerback a Division I prospect. However, if the player has more than one of the cherished traits, it certainly gives them a better likelihood of becoming a Division I player.

And Hawkins scores quite well in all of the categories especially max coverage, range and ability to fend off blocks. It's no wonder that Hawkins is one of the most-wanted players in the Dallas Metroplex. He is leaning toward Oklahoma with other teams like Nebraska, Colorado, Florida and Notre Dame giving chase.

Tackling: This is one of Hawkins strong points. He is amazing on run support. Hawkins uses his hands to fend off blockers really well, uses his quick feet to accelerate to get to the ball and when he hits you, you know that you've been hit. Hawkins didn't get to do much tackling in drills at practice, but on film - he can lay into like a load of bricks

Grade:10

Max coverage: This is another area that Hawkins excels at because he is built to cover like a Hawk. He has long arms, good hands and the type of attitude that you need in a cover-corner. He's not afraid to get up in a receiver's face and show what he's got. Hawkins knows that he needs to improve on his technique still and that might be his biggest weak point in max coverage. But he also has the tools that it takes to be a special cover man. Even without honed technique and playing in a system that mixes up zone and man coverage, Hawkins is more than good enough to play for the big boys.

Grade: 7.5

Zone coverage: With Turner mixing it up quite a bit, it's not unusual to see Hawkins lined up five yards off the ball and backpedaling into cover three coverage. It's in zone coverage that you can see the flashes of brilliance that make him great in max coverage situations. He has great break on the ball, uses his amazing jumping ability (did three back flips in a row while standing on the sidelines) and athletic ability to go up and get it. He also has the size that coaches covet now, allowing him to go up against any type of receiver in jump-ball situations (which happen often in zone coverage)

Grade: 7.5

Range: Along with tackling and ability to shed blockers, this is one of Hawkins strongest points. He just seems to glide out on the football field - even when he's running sprints. That allows him to gobble up pieces of the football field and make great breaks on the ball. You can especially see this in zone coverage when he makes a break on a ball in the middle of the field and gets there almost in an instant. But his range also came into play once in practice. He allowed a receiver to get behind him on a busted coverage call. He closed the distance on the receiver and was able to get there at the last moment to break the ball up.

Grade: 7.5

Ability to fend off blocks: Another Hawkins specialty is his ability to take would-be blockers and turn them into nothing but speed bumps on his way to the tackle. Hawkins has some of the longest arms around, which he uses to keep the blockers away. He also uses good escape techniques and good overall pursuit technique to keep the ball carrier to his inside and closer to his defense.

Grade: 7.5

Final grade: 40 out of 50.

Final comments: Whoever gets Hawkins - and it looks like Oklahoma at this point - will have the pieces of an amazing cornerback. The little things that Hawkins needs to get better at are technique issues. He'll pick those things up in college because no matter where he ends up, it'll be a more diverse system and he'll be taught the finer points of being a solid cover man. But he is already that. He's one of the nation's top corners and overall one of the top players in the state of Texas.