Brent Hawkins

Brent Lee Hawkins (born September 1, 1983) is an American football defensive end who is currently under contract with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fifth round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football at Illinois State.

Early years
Originally from Godfrey, Illinois, Hawkins graduated from Jersey Community High School 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 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. 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 for the 2006 Hula Bowl.

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 by the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League in April 2010. In his first season in the CFL Hawkins recorded 31 tackles and 3 sacks. Unfortunately, he suffered a should injury prior to the start of the 2011 CFL season which caused him to miss the entire season. On January 12, 2012 the Saskatchewan Roughriders announced that they had resigned Brent Hawkins.