Class: Senior

Hometown: Centerville, OH

Height / Weight: 6-1 / 240

Birthdate: 01/06/1984

Major: Criminology

40-Time: 4.52

Career Notes:
A returning first-team All-American and one of the top defensive players in college football ... will be a candidate for all the major defensive awards in 2005, including the Butkus, Lombardi and Bednarik awards ... is a tough, smart, relentless football player who thrives on competition and excels in the big games ... will be in his third year as a starter ...has led the team in tackles each of the past two years and goes into his senior season with 273 total participations ... his 141 tackles in 2004 are the most by an Ohio State player since Chris Spielman's 156 in 1986 ... has a chance to become just the fifth player in Ohio State history to record 400 career tackles, joining Marcus Marek (572), Tom Cousineau (569), Spielman (546) and Steve Tovar (408) in that select circle ... bidding to become the first player since Tovar (1990-92) to lead the team in tackles for three consecutive years ... has played in 38 games the past three years and has started the 25 times ... is a two-time All-Big Ten pick ... was a semi-finalist for the Butkus Award last year and certainly embodies everything that award stands for ... has the ability to put the last play behind him and focus on the next play, a unique characteristic that helps explain his consistently stellar play.

2004 (Junior):
Was the media's pick as the preseason Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year ... led the Big Ten in tackles most of the year and wound up finishing second in the league with an average of 11.8 stops per game ... led the team in tackles nine times, including a career-high 20 against Wisconsin to become just the ninth Ohio State defender to record 20 or more tackles ... had eight games with 10 or more tackles ... was named to the Football Writers, Sporting News, Associated Press and Walter Camp All-American teams ... was selected as the team's defensive MVP, which is named for former Buckeye and NFL great Bill Willis ... had eight tackles for loss, including a sack, to go along with five passes broken up and a pair of interceptions ... his acrobatic interception at Michigan State, thwarted the Spartans final drive with OSU clinging to a 25-19 lead ... had a forced fumble against Wisconsin and recovered one against Iowa

2003 (Sophomore):
Led the Buckeyes in tackles with 106 in his first season as a starter ... second in solo tackles behind Dustin Fox (55) with 52 ... finished the season with 13 tackles-for-loss (second on the team behind Will Smith's 20) and four sacks ... also had a pair of interceptions and five passes broken up ... had a then career-high 13 tackles against Northwestern and was in double figures on three other occasions, including the Fiesta Bowl, where he had 10 stops ... was the defensive MVP of the 2003 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl ... led the team in tackles seven times ... had a 55-yard interception return against North Carolina State and also had a pick against Bowling Green ... an OSU Scholar-Athlete.

2002 (Freshman):
Played behind Cie Grant at the weak-side linebacker spot ... recorded 26 tackles, 13 solos and the same number of assists ... had 3.5 tackles-for-loss and two interceptions, including one he returned 34 yards for a score against Kent State ... made his first career start against Penn State and intercepted Zach Mills on the Nittany Lions' first possession ... five tackles against Penn State, Kent State and Wisconsin were his top efforts.

High School:
Missed much of his senior year because of injury, but still finished the campaign with 82 tackles ... 585 career tackles (142 as a freshman, 192 as a sophomore and 169 as a junior) ... rated as the nation's 30th best outside linebacker by Rivals.com ... also averaged over 40 yards as a punter his senior year ... played point guard on the basketball team as a freshman and sophomore.

Personal:
Is the son of Keith and Judy Hawk ... has two older brothers, Matt (27), Ryan (24) ... Ryan played quarterback at Ohio University ... enjoys hunting and target shooting ... practices yoga, which he lists as one of the biggest risks he has taken ... best football memory to date is winning the 2002 National Title ... top memory from 2003 is the repeat victory at the Fiesta Bowl ... the pregame OSU Marching Band "Skull Session" is his favorite home game experience ... the Tunnel of Pride is top OSU tradition.