Ahmad Hawkins Class: Senior Hometown: Hampton, Va. High School: Hampton H.S. Height / Weight: 5-10 / 185 Position: DB

WORTH NOTING : Made the successful transition from offensive starter (WR) to defensive starter (CB) for his sen-ior season in 2000 … ended up leading the team in inter-ceptions with four … became the first cornerback to lead the team in interceptions since Ronde Barber in 1994 … his four interceptions are the most by a UVa cornerback since Barber and Joe Crocker each had four in 1995 … switched from #80 which he wore when he played wide receiver to #9 when he moved to defense … wore #9 in high school when he played both cornerback and wide receiver.

HONORS: 2000—Second-team All-State by The Roanoke Times.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:

2000—Outstanding athlete who made the switch to defense during the spring practice period due to the team’s lack of experience in the secondary … played like a veteran and started all 12 games, including the O’ahu Bowl against Georgia … joined safety Shernard Newby as the only players to see action in every game in the secondary … does not shy away from contact and will stick his head in there to make a tackle on a bigger player … led the team’s cornerbacks with 43 tackles … led the team with four interceptions and ranked third in the ACC … made two tackles against Brigham Young in his first game on defense … intercepted his first pass against Clemson … also broke up his first pass in that game … had four tack-les, including his only tackle for a loss, against Maryland … also intercepted a pass in the game … four tackles and an interception against Florida State … had six tackles in the game against Georgia Tech … four tackles and an interception vs. N.C. State … made a career-high seven tackles in the final regular season game against Virginia Tech … made three tackles, including one for a three-yard loss in the O’ahu Bowl vs. Georgia … lettered.

1999—Very quick, fleet-footed receiver … opened the sea-son against North Carolina in the starting lineup, but aggravated an injury in that game and missed the Clemson game the following week … returned for the Wake Forest game and stayed healthy the rest of the way … started the Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Buffalo and Maryland games … also started against Illinois in the Micronpc.com Bowl … recorded career highs with 21 receptions and 253 yards … third on the team in receiving yards and fourth in receptions … caught three passes for 42 yards against North Carolina … also had three recep-tions against Virginia Tech and Duke … caught four pass-es for 67 yards and a touchdown against N.C. State, establishing career highs in all areas … also pulled in two two-point conversions vs. the Wolfpack … scored all 10 of his points in that game in Virginia’s 30-point third quarter to erase a halftime deficit and gain the win … also had his first kickoff return of the season (a 24-yarder) in that game … returned four kickoffs for 75 yards and caught two passes for 24 yards in the win over Georgia Tech … had a 32-yard return in that game, the longest of his career … returned three punts against Buffalo (for 13 yards) … caught one pass for 19 yards vs. Illinois in the bowl game ... earned his third letter.

1998—Played in all 11 regular season games and the Peach Bowl ... started against Duke and Florida State ... caught 10 passes for 176 yards and two touchdowns on the season ... also returned four kickoffs for 76 yards (19.0 average) ... eight of 10 receptions resulted in either a first down or a touchdown ... tied for second on the team with two touchdown receptions ... hauled in an out pattern from quarterback Aaron Brooks and scooted 47 yards to the end zone to cap Virginia’s remarkable 36-32 comeback victory over archrival Virginia Tech ... UVa trailed by 22 points at halftime (29-7) ... the comeback was the greatest in school history … his game-winning catch was his only reception of the day ... the 47-yard reception is the longest of his career ... ironically, he wasn’t actually supposed to be in the game ... was inserted for Kevin Coffey, who was winded after making a clutch grab two plays earlier ...recorded season highs with three receptions for 61 yards against Clemson ... all three receptions went for a first down ... caught a nine-yard scoring toss in the fourth quar-ter against Wake Forest ... had an 18-yard reception and returned two kickoffs for 40 yards against Florida State, including a season-long return of 24 yards ... caught two passes for 18 yards and had a 15-yard kickoff return against Georgia Tech ... caught a 19-yard pass for a first down against Duke and had a four-yard reception against Auburn ... did not catch a pass against N.C. State but had a 21-yard kickoff return ... had a 19-yard reception against Georgia in the Peach Bowl ... lettered for the second time.

1997—Saw action in UVa’s first eight games as a reserve wide receiver and on special teams ... missed the last three games of the season (Georgia Tech, N.C. State and Virginia Tech) with an injured right ankle ... caught four passes for 37 yards and one touchdown on the season ... averaged 9.3 yards per reception ... caught an 18-yard pass from Aaron Brooks in UVa’s season opener against Auburn for his first career reception ... also returned one kickoff for 12 yards in that game ... scored his first colle-giate touchdown against Florida State ... caught a 15-yard scoring pass from fellow true freshman Dan Ellis early in the fourth quarter ... caught another pass from Ellis for no gain and had a 14-yard kickoff return against the Seminoles ... had a four-yard reception of a Brooks’ pass against Wake Forest ... returned opening kickoff of the Maryland game 17 yards ... lettered for first time.

HIGH SCHOOL: Earned four letters in football at Hampton High School for head coach Mike Smith ... Hampton won its second consecutive Class AAA state championship and was the consensus No. 1 team in the nation in 1996 ... the team also set the national high school scoring record in 1996 ... finished career as Hampton High School’s all-time leading receiver and second on the Virginia High School League’s all-time receiving list with 2,109 yards ... set a state record for most touchdown receptions in a season (19) ... PrepStar and Gridiron Greats All-American ... first-team Associated Press All-State selection at wide receiver his junior and senior seasons ... also chosen All-State by the Daily Press ... three-time first-team All-District and All-Region selection ... rated one of the top 25 football prospects in Virginia by the Roanoke Times ... selected to the Charlottesville Daily Progress/ Lynchburg News & Advance “Gold List” ... caught 34 passes for 1,213 yards and 19 touchdowns as a senior ... also rushed for 355 yards and nine touchdowns ... had 400 yards receiving during the 1996 state playoffs ... had seven career inter-ceptions as a defensive back and returned a punt 97 yards for a touchdown ... state track champion in the 100 and 200 meters ... competed on 4 x 200 relay team that posted fastest time in the nation his junior year ... played center field for Hampton’s baseball team.

PERSONAL: Ahmad Rashad Hawkins ... born 12-10-78 in Hampton, Va. ... son of Adolph Hawkins and Diane Hawkins ... Scholar Athlete at Hampton High School ... participated in “Natural Helper” program ... religious stud-ies major.