The Incredible Hulk

Ron Counts, Staff Writer
Published: November 9, 2008

As a nine-year-old, John Ross Hawkins played a variety of sports, but missing from the list was football.

That all changed the day Culpeper High School’s state-championship team came to visit his third-grade class in 1999.

“They just seemed really together and that they were having a lot of fun,” Hawkins said. “Some of the linemen noticed me because of my size, and they told me ‘we get to just hit people all day long,’ and I thought that sounded fun.”

The 6-foot-7-inch 280-pound left tackle at Culpeper County High began his football career that very year, and today he is receiving interest from 17 college programs. The list includes Mississippi State, Ball State, University of Pennsylvania, Richmond University and William & Mary.

Ferrum College has been the only school to offer Hawkins a scholarship so far, but he enjoyed a recent visit to William & Mary and one to Elon University — which is very attractive to Hawkins because of its film program.

“I wasn’t really thinking about college football until last year,” the senior at CCHS said. “I never really thought of myself as that caliber of player until the letters started coming.”

College scouts aren’t the only ones noticing the second-year starter on the Blue Devils’ offensive line. He visited William & Mary the same day Monticello quarterback Michael Graham was there. The Tribe’s coach Jimmye Laycock pointed at Hawkins and asked Graham, “How would you like this guy blocking for you?”

His response?

“I’d like it very much. I’m not used to having big linemen.”

Hawkins garnered some interest last summer while competing in positional camps at the University of Virginia and James Madison University — which is the top school on his list even though it hasn’t officially contacted him yet.

“I love JMU and the area around it,” Hawkins said. “If U.Va. and USC offered me a scholarship, I’d turn them down for JMU.”

If Hawkins does go to James Madison, he would be the 20th member of his family to attend the school in Harrisonburg. His interests were further peaked during one of the camps JMU coach Mickey Mathews attended.

Even though one of Mathews’ arms was in a sling because of shoulder surgery, the coach made a huge impression on Hawkins by going out of his way to drag a cooler of water all the way across the field to where the big guys were running drills.

“That showed me he cares about his players,” Hawkins said. “And that he’s all about the team.”

Hawkins credits coaches George Fotenos, Greg Martz and Andy Ulrich with much of his success. In fact, he has known the importance of good coaching since that fateful day in his elementary school.

“After the players talked, most of the kids were getting the player’s autographs,” Hawkins said. “But I saw coaches Sorrentino and Martz so I went over to get their autographs.

They told me ‘You don’t want our autographs, you want the player’s.’ and I said, ‘but the players are nothing without you guys.’”

Hawkins says Fotenos taught him the basics of blocking during his youth football days, Ulrich showed him how to hit better and Martz taught him how to get into position on the field and to stay calm, cool and collected.

“John brings a lot of experience and dedication to the team,” CCHS coach Greg Martz said. “He has a ton of heart, he’s loyal and he always does what is best for the team.”

Coming back from the cut
The Blue Devils star lineman makes protecting quarterback Steven Dodson look easy most Friday nights, but it isn’t always easy being the biggest guy in the room.

In the 6th grade, he was cut by Floyd T. Binns coach Ken Jennings. That, combined with bullying from other students and getting too big to play in any of the Culpeper youth leagues, resulted in Hawkins leaving school to be homeschooled and missing an entire year of football.

“I hated not being able to play,” Hawkins said. “It drove me crazy.”

That year, Hawkins went through an extremely painful growth spurt before returning to Binns for his 8th grade year six inches taller and almost 100 pounds heavier.

“There were days he couldn’t even walk because his knees hurt so bad,” John’s father Chuck Hawkins said. “It was almost impossible to keep him in clothes.”

Hawkins, once again, tried out for the Blackhawks after returning to school, but this time he quickly caught coach Jennings’ attention.

“What grade are you in?” Jennings asked Hawkins.

“Eighth grade,” Hawkins replied.

“Where’d you come from?” the coach asked.

Hawkins replied, “You cut me last year.”

Unless you’re counting pancake blocks, Hawkins hasn’t experienced much success during his high school career. The Blue were 2-8 the last two seasons, and this season they finished 0-10 after Friday’s 40-6 loss to Stonewall Jackson.

“It has been tough this season,” Hawkins said. “But it has also been the most fun. We knew we were a young team, so we had to come together and we’ve become like a family.”

Even though there hasn’t been much success, Hawkins said the lessons he learned during his time as a Blue Devil will serve him well in the future.

“I used to not trust people, but the last three years have helped me trust more,” he said. “Football helps me see the whole picture.”

Future coming into view
Not only does Hawkins see the whole picture, he keeps it in perspective.

“I love football,” he said. “But I also love film, and I know that while football might get me to college, academics are going to take me to the next level.”

Off the field, Hawkins comes across as a bit of a gentle giant with interests outside the game he loves — he has made several short films, boasts a 3.0 grade point average and goes spelunking and whitewater rafting with a group associated with the Boy Scouts called the Venturing Crew — but make no mistake, when he snaps his chin strap he turns into a completely different kind of beast.

“I love being on the line,” he said. “I don’t have to be fast, I just have to be strong and willing to put the hurt on someone every play.”

Ron Counts can be reached at 825-0771 ext. 166 or