Delaware cornerback Travis Hawkins Q&A
Delaware all-conference cornerback Travis Hawkins had an impressive Pro Day workout, catching the eye of NFL scouts and building upon the solid impression he's made since transferring from the University of Maryland.
He's graded as a late-round to priority free agent draft prospect.
Hawkins had a 4.37 in the 40-yard dash, bench presssed 225 pounds 20 times and registered a 34-inch vertical leap, a 10-8 broad jump, a 4.32 in the 20-yard shuttle and a 6.8 in the three-cone drill.
Hawkins had 66 tackles, four interceptions and eight pass deflections last season.
The 5-foot-9, 5/8, 192-pounder returned a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown and averaged 27.4 yards per return
In his first season at Delaware after transferring from Maryland, Hawkins had four interceptions and deflected nine passes.
In his first two seasons at Delaware, Hawkins had 102 tackles, 12 pass deflections and averaged 25.1 yards per kickoff return with one touchdown.
In 2012, he had 50 tackles.
At Maryland as a freshman, Hawkins played in eight games as a backup and special-teams contributor.
In high school at Quince Orchard, Hawkins was a three-year starter who was named all-state as a senior and was one of the top-ranked cornerbacks in the nation by Rivals and was invited to the Under Armour All-American game. He was also recruited by West Virginia, Florida and Oregon.
Hawkins participated in the Philadelphia Eagles' local prospect day and had an undisclosed private workout for an NFL team earlier this week.
National Football Post caught up with Hawkins for the following Q&A:
How's the draft process going?
Hawkins: "I'm enjoying every bit of it. It's exciting. I'm getting a lot of calls from teams. It's been my dream since I was seven years old. It's just a blessing."
What will an NFL team get with you?
"They're going to get a hard worker. I'm going to go in and earn a spot right away and do whatever I need to do whether that's special teams or being a nickel back or something. I just like to play football. I'm a family guy. I like to be around my family. I'm not a guy who likes to party or drink or anything. If a team picks me up, they'll get a guy who loves to work and is going to compete.
"From a skill standpoint, I'm all about special teams. That's something teams have focused on with me because I'm a guy who flies under the radar right now. If it's special teams my first year, that's something I'm coll with. I just want to get in and compete and hopefully earn a job. I feel like I'm a great return specialist. I can focus on that and cover kicks and be a gunner, too."
What did your Pro Day accomplish for you?
Hawkins: "That was my main focus. I felt like I had to run a 4.3 to have any chance. Once I ran that, I knew it would open eyes. I knew I could get down to 4.3. The only thing holding me back was my start. I worked on that. The whole time I was training, I didn't run one 40. I was training and just ran 20s and focused on my 10-yard start."
What are your expectations for the draft?
Hawkins: "We hope for the best, but we expect the worst. Going into the Pro Day, I had a priority free agent grade. That's what we're sticking with right now. Teams aren't going to sit here and say, 'We'll draft you here.' They're not saying much."
Have you gotten any attention from particular teams?
Hawkins: "The Ravens came to my Pro Day and have been in touch. Whenever your hometown team is having interest in you, that's always good. Torrey Smith and LaQuan Williams (former Maryland players) are there. If I went there, I would have some familiar aspects to it with different people I know.
"Me and [Delaware defensive tackle] Zack Kerr have been playing together since high school and went to Maryland togethere and transferred to Delaware. If a team was fortunate enough to get both of us, that would be a blessing. We've been together every step of this journey."
Follow me on Twitter: @RavensInsider
Aaron Wilson covers the Ravens for The Baltimore Sun
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This story originally appeared on Nationalfootballpost.com
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