Millennium running back Hawkins signs in-state with Ottawa
This is No. 11 in a month-long series of profiles of Arizona high school seniors that signed with four-year colleges. Here's the full list (currently totaling 266) of players from within the state moving on to the next level.
SPOTLIGHT: 2/19/21
We are just over a week from the start of the third season for Ottawa University in Surprise. The Spirit have had a longer wait than normal to follow up its Sooner Athletic Conference title in 2019. With that league championship came a berth in the NAIA playoffs.
With a season still to be played this spring (postponed from the fall), the recruiting class was smaller than normal for Ottawa for the Class of '21. Still, there were nine in-state senior signees from Arizona in the latest class for the Spirit.
One of those is Jaylen Hawkins.
Hawkins, who played at Millennium, is one of four signees from the West Valley. The 5-10, 170-pound athlete was offered by quarterbacks/wide receivers coach Dane Salazar in December following a visit. A couple weeks later, Hawkins was the first of the Arizona prospects to commit to Ottawa. Other schools that showed interest and offered include Bethany (Kans.), McPherson (Kans.), Simpson (Iowa), Nebraska Wesleyan, and Tabor (Kans.).
"I chose Ottawa because I wanted to stay home and the coaching atmosphere at my visit created a lot of interest," Hawkins said in an e-mail interview. "They were also very fast to show me how much they were offering me."
NAIA football programs can offer 24 scholarships per team. The coaches can divide those out as partial scholarships in order to increase the number of high-caliber players on the team. A couple of the schools on Hawkins' list extended offers, but didn't provide numbers on how much of the education would be covered via athletic scholarship or financial aid.
Ottawa and Arizona Christian are the only non-Division I college football programs in the state. A decade ago, these options didn't exist for those players who were not at the D-I level, but still wanted to get an education and keep playing football at a four-year college in Arizona. Getting to stay near his family is one of the many benefits for Hawkins to play at OUAZ.
"I get to enjoy Arizona weather and just being home," Hawkins said. "I won't have to pay to live on campus, which is another plus. Football is the forefront of my focus, though. That's all I want to do. I just want to continue to play."
In his senior season, Hawkins played on both sides of the ball for the Tigers and was a bright spot during a frustrating 1-5 season that saw two games lost due to COVID-19. He led MHS in scoring and was second on the team in tackles.
Hawkins, a running back and safety, saved his best performance for last as he rushed for 75 yards on 13 carries and scored two touchdowns in a win over Kellis. He is being recruited on offense and said that position comes more natural to him.
"I played safety because I wanted to get onto the field," Hawkins said. "Safety was my ticket to running back because I've never been the first choice to play running back. I love offense, though. I love making people miss and score touchdowns. It brings the most fun out of football for me."
Hawkins considered track and basketball, but decided to put his athletic efforts and focus into football. He participates in Young Life, which helps adolescents grow in their Christian faith. He also focused on his classes as Hawkins has a 3.83 GPA.
Ottawa finished the 2019 season ranked No. 16 in the NAIA Football Coaches postseason Top 25 poll. The Spirit had a record of 9-2 and its head coach, Mike Nesbitt, was named the NAIA Region 5 Coach of the Year. Ottawa finished fourth in the NAIA in scoring offense (43.2 ppg). The 2021 spring season begins on Feb. 27 with the first of six SAC games (over seven weeks) in Fort Worth against Texas Wesleyan. The goal is to try and get back to the playoffs, which start on April 17.
