Josh Hawkins Named AAC Defensive Player-of-the-Week
October 19, 2015 | Football
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - East Carolina senior Josh Hawkins has been named the American Athletic Conference Defensive Player-of-the-Week according to an announcement by the league office Monday.
The Winston-Salem, N.C. native intercepted a Dane Evans pass at the goal line on Tulsa's opening drive returning it for a school-tying 100 yards staking the Pirates to an early 7-0 lead, which they would not relinquish. The pick-six was the first of his career, while the 100-yard return matched Kevin Monroe (1998 vs. Louisville) and current teammate DaShaun Amos (2013 vs. Tulsa) school-record performances.
Hawkins, who had six tackles (three solo) on the afternoon, keyed the Pirates defensive effort that held the Golden Hurricane to a season-low 17 points in a 30-17 victory.
On the season, he has recorded 31 stops (21 solo) with a three pass breakups to go along with his team-leading two interceptions.
Hawkins is the second Pirate defender in the last three weeks to take home league weekly honors following Montese Overton's selection on Oct. 5 after his record-tying four-sack performance at SMU.
East Carolina (4-3, 2-1 AAC) will play host to No. 22 Temple (6-0, 3-0 AAC) Thursday night inside Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. (EDT) and will be nationally televised on ESPN2.
