A.J. Hawk is a criminology major from Centerville, Ohio who totaled 585 tackles in his high school career. He played point guard on his high school basketball team his first two years and averaged 40 yards per kick as a punter his senior year. He comes from a good family and his older brother Ryan Hawk was a starting quarterback for Ohio University. A.J. chose Ohio State over Penn State and was a solid contributor from the beginning, totaling 26 tackles and two interceptions while serving as a backup to Cie Grant as a true freshman. He moved into the starting weakside linebacker spot as a sophomore and went on to earn honors such as: first team all-big ten, OSU scholar athlete, and defensive MVP of the 2003 Fiesta Bowl. In 2004 he continued to prove himself as one of the most dominant linebackers in college football, leading the Buckeye defense with 141 tackles, the highest total for a Buckeye since Chris Speilman had 156 tackles in 1986, on his way to yet another first team all-big ten selection. A.J. could’ve entered the 2005 NFL draft and been a high pick but he opted to return to Ohio State for his senior season. He will be an even higher pick in the 2006 draft.

He has the best instincts of any linebacker in college and always seems to be around the football. He has the strength to effectively fight off blocks of opposing offensive linemen and the ability to chase down most running backs in the backfield. He is a very hard hitter and a fundamentally sound tackler. He has an excellent combination of size and speed for a linebacker and is able to make plays all over the field. He does have a tendency to overrun plays at times due to his aggresive style of play. This is something that could be a problem for him if it isn\'t corrected at the professional level. Although he decided not to enter the 2005 NFL draft, A.J. impressed NFL scouts by running a 4.46 at the 2005 Ohio State pro day. He has good pass/run recognition skills and has proven to be one of the best linebackers in coverage with 6 interceptions in his first three years and 10 passes broken up the past two years combined. His speed allows him to effectively cover tight ends and most running backs coming out of the backfield. A.J. is an extremely intelligent player who has an outstanding work ethic. He gives 100% on every play and never stops until the whistle blows. You can count on him to be wherever the ball is at the end of nearly every play. A.J. is the best linebacker in the draft and should be a high first round pick in April.