Signing Day Profile: Defensive lineman Davoan Hawkins
Eddie Gran has recruited a number of South Florida prospects in recent classes, but few have been as physically advanced or imposing as defensive lineman Davoan Hawkins.
The Chaminade Madonna big man is up next in our Signing Day Profile series.
Bio in Brief
Defensive lineman Davoan Hawkins
6'4, 252 pounds
Rating: Three-stars (5.6 Rivals Rating)
Other offers: Miami, Cincinnnati, Illinois, Iowa State, North Carolina, NC State, Oklahoma, Rutgers, Syracuse, West Virginia, Wisconsin and others
Recruiting Overview
It's impossible to tell the story of Hawkins' recruitment without mentioning a couple of details that jump off the page.
First, he hails from Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade Madonna, a school that has turned into Lexington South and a major pipeline of Florida talent for Kentucky's football program. Teammates Akeem Hayes and Marvin Alexander are also Kentucky bound. Josh Ali and Chris Whittaker signed with Kentucky last year. That helps explain the appeal of Kentucky for Hawkins.
Then, over the summer, Hawkins attended a camp at Miami, a program undergoing a bit of a resurgence under Mark Stoops. Hawkins picked up an offer from the Hurricanes after that camp but did not waver in his commitment to Kentucky. From that point forward Hawkins made it clear that he was 100-percent solid with the Wildcats.
Scouting Report
Simply put, Hawkins looks the part. He has the appearance of a player who has been in a college weight program for a couple of years, and for that reason he might be more college-ready than most of the defensive linemen Kentucky has signed in recent years. His advanced physical stature and his strength are two of his better assets.
Hawkins has adequate athleticism and projects as someone who could become an elite strongside defensive end prospect if he refines the use of his hands and improves on the more technical aspects of his craft. At peak potential he should be stout against the run, and could fit alternately into Kentucky's current 3-4 multiple defense or a more traditional 4-3 scheme.
He was able to rush the passer and had seven sacks and a lot of tackles for loss as a senior for a dominant Chaminade Madonna defense.
Hawkins is an emotional leader on the field and has a tenacious drive to succeed. He leaves everything on the field and is the kind of player others enjoy lining up alongside.
Rivals.com analysts Rob Cassidy and Woody Wommack listed Hawkins as one of the top performers at a Rivals event earlier this year and said he could project as a defensive tackle at the college level.
Forecast for 2018 & Beyond
Whether Hawkins can get on the field as a true freshman probably depends on how much Kentucky's other defensive linemen progress. While he's more built than your typical true freshman defensive lineman, Kentucky returns a lot of defensive linemen who have more experience in the program. That said, even if Hawkins doesn't play a lot as a freshman he should see plenty of time early in his career beyond that. He's farther along physically, so his floor is probably higher than that of a lot of other players Kentucky has signed in the trenches. In that respect he might be more similar to Quinton Bohanna and Josh Paschal than some others.
Quotable
"I have family up in Kentucky, so I was up there for Christmas and I got to get on the Kentucky campus, check out a basketball game and it was great. I fell in love when I was up there. I knew then when I was on the campus that Kentucky was where I wanted to be."
- Davoan Hawkins to Rivals.com's Chad Simmons in March
