Hawkins fits perfectly with Louisville offense
Javian Hawkins and Louisville football’s offensive mindset pair perfectly.
Cardinal head coach Scott Satterfield hasn’t been shy about his desire for his team to run the ball. The redshirt freshman has been the biggest benefactor of the offensive scheme.
Hawkins became the first running back to reach 1,000 rushing yards in a single season since 2010 with 67 yards against NC State in Louisville’s 34-20 victory Nov. 16. Hawkins has rushed for 1,045 yards through 10 games this season, two yards shy of tying Victor Anderson’s single season freshman rushing record, which was set in 2008.
“Hawkins has had a really nice season and he is not done yet,” Satterfield said.
Bilal Powell was the last Louisville running back to surpassed 1,000 yards, rushing for 1,405 yards in 2010. Listed as 5-foot-9, 182 pounds, Hawkins has averaged 5.3 yards per carry.
“Hawkins in the kind of player that you love as a running back,” Satterfield said. “He’s explosive, he’s powerful, he’s a little bit undersized but he makes up for that with his grit and his fight.”
Hawkins posted back-to-back 100-yard games in begin the season, rushing for 122 yards against Notre Dame and 123 yards against Eastern Kentucky. He had his best performance of the season with 172 yards against Boston College.
After Clemson held runners to less than 100 yards for 22 consecutive games, Hawkins and Louisville broke the streak with 129 yards. The following week Hawkins rushed for 136 yards against Virginia.
Hawkins has ran behind an offensive line that has helped average 199 rushing yards per game.
“Our offensive line has played well this year with blocking for the run,” Satterfield said. “We’ve made enough big plays on the perimeter outside of here to open up some of those rushing lanes throughout the season.”
