Meet Central football quarterback Blaine Hawkins, one of college football's most prolific passers
PELLA — Central quarterback Blaine Hawkins stands on the sidelines wearing shorts and a hoodie and holding a football as his teammates get ready to start practice last week.
Hawkins is getting a rare practice to rest. The Dutch, who have already rolled through their first nine games of the season, typically use Monday’s as lighter practices and as opportunities to rest veterans. This is Hawkins’ chance catch a breath.
“It’s nice to recover a little bit,” Hawkins said with a smile.
Hawkins has been a busy man this fall.
The 5-foot-11, fifth-year senior quarterback from Ankeny has been rewriting the record books as one of the most productive quarterbacks in all of college football. Hawkins, who has led his team to an 10-0 record this season, a conference crown and a trip to the Division III playoffs, has thrown 50 touchdowns this year.
That’s more than any player in FBS, FCS or Division II or Division III football when the week began.
“He’s always incredible,” Central wide receiver Tanner Schminke said. “This year especially.”
What makes this season even more special is that it almost didn’t happen. Hawkins, who was supposed to have graduated and finished out his college career by now, received an extra season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He wasn't going to let it go to waste.
Hawkins decided to put off work, stay in school and pay for part his tuition, so he could help his team win a conference title and return to the playoffs. The decision has paid off with a historic season.
"It has been a really special year so far," Hawkins said.
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Hawkins has lofty goals for 2020
Hawkins' family has a tradition. At the start of every year, they'll gather in the family's home in Ankeny, write down goals and share them.
The idea came from Hawkins' father, Tim, a financial planner. When they got together at the start of 2020, Blaine, who was already a star quarterback for the Dutch, outlined huge goals he wanted to accomplish with the football team that fall.
Win a conference championship.
Win multiple Division III playoff games.
Named to the All-American team.
They were lofty but realistic. The 2019 team went 7-1 and shared American Rivers Conference regular season title with Wartburg — and a lot of that roster was returning in 2020. Hawkins was a big reason why, having passed for 3,302 yards and 44 touchdowns that 2019 season.
The quarterback had already been etching his name in school history. In 2020, he was planning to do the same for his team.
"We kind of got a taste of the playoffs in 2019 for the first time," Hawkins said. "I felt like we were going to be able to leverage that experience and talent to have a really special year."
But it never happened.
In August of 2020, Central's conference postponed the football season due to the COVID-19 pandemic and moved it to the spring. The Dutch played just two games, against Simpson and Nebraska Wesleyan that spring. Any hope at a conference championship, a trip to the playoffs or earning All-American honors were wiped away.
It hit everyone on the Dutch roster hard but especially Hawkins who was eying winning the conference crown outright. It was something that had eluded him ever since he took over the starting job midway through his freshman season. When Hawkins missed a couple of key games during his sophomore season in 2018 with an injury, the Dutch missed an opportunity to take the title. The following season, one loss kept the Dutch from achieving it.
The 2020 season was supposed to be his chance.
"For Blaine, it was just kind of having that feeling of unfinished business," said Central football coach Jeff McMartin.
Hawkins wasn't going to let it slip away.
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A goal deferred
Hawkins and his family had his college career mapped out. The 2020 season was going to be his final playing for the Dutch. Hawkins, an economics major, then planned to graduate the following May. Has even getting ready to transition into the working world after interning with Casey's General Stores. Hawkins, who worked in their fuel pricing area one summer, also got experience in their asset protection program. He figured there was potential for a possible job after graduating.
But the COVID-19 pandemic scuttled those ideas. Hawkins, who was still motivated to accomplish his goals from the 2020 season, wanted to come back for another season. He spoke to his parents, who had helped him pay for some of his tuition because Division III athletics does not come with scholarships. His parents had only planned for four years of college but encouraged him to go back.
If Hawkins passed it up, he would likely regret it, they told him.
"We knew how much effort he put into it. And to walk away, we thought that would be a mistake," his father said.
Hawkins agreed. He put off graduation, added another major and enrolled in more classes. His parents agreed to help again with tuition. He wasn't the only one on the team to return. Schminke said when Hawkins decided to return, others followed. But Hawkins' move wasn't to set records or gain personal publicity.
He saw an opportunity for the Dutch to compete for a conference championship and make a run throughout the playoffs. Hawkins understood that he would be a vital part of the team's success if he returned.
So he put his life on hold.
“This move was not a selfish move,” McMartin said. “This move was, 'This is what the team needs. This is what’s best for the team and I’m all in on this team.’”
It was not a shock to McMartin, who had watched Hawkins go the extra mile for his teammates previously. That includes an instance when McMartin was saw one of his players, who had suffered a leg injury and was using a scooter to get around. While car after car drove by the player, Hawkins pulled over, got the player in the car and took him to the cafeteria. McMartin said Hawkins even helped move an injured freshman player to another floor of a different dorm. Hawkins not only helped pack up the teammate’s belongings but stayed and made his bed, his coach said.
Another time, when McMartin told Hawkins and some other older players to stay home for a bye week practice, the quarterback ignored him. Instead, Hawkins got up at 6 a.m., came to practice and helped work with the other quarterbacks.
“That’s what you get when you get Blaine Hawkins,” McMartin said. “It’s pretty amazing.”
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Going out in style
Hawkins finally got a chance to take aim at his goals on Sept. 4. That’s when Central opened the season at St. Olaf in Minnesota. That day turned into a preview of things to come this fall.
Hawkins completed 28-of-39 passes for 370 yards and two touchdowns in a 46-27 win. During a 69-13 win over Kalamazoo the following week, Hawkins threw for 227 yards and four touchdowns.
“I know he’s always been chasing that perfect game but the odds that that happens are not really that high,” Schminke said. “To be chasing that and to be even in the realm of accomplishing that is pretty outstanding.”
Hawkins has been nearly flawless as he’s checked off goal after goal on his list. He’s , guided Central to an outright league crown with a 10-0 overall record this season (8-0 in ARC play) and has the Dutch back in the playoffs. Central qualified for the Division III playoffs and will take on Bethel on Saturday in Pella.
Hawkins has completed 74.3% of his passes this season and has earned ARC Player of the Week honors six times. His passer rating of 215.3 ranks second in all of NCAA college football, barely behind Coastal Carolina's Grayson McCall. And, of course, there's his NCAA-leading touchdown passes.
On top of all that, consider this: Hawkins and the Dutch have been so dominating that McMartin usually doesn't play him the entire game.
"He's doing it in about a half or three quarters. … This isn't a whole game for him," McMartin said.
Hawkins credits his teammates for the success. He adds that having so much experience in Central's system helps, too. Hawkins will graduate with two majors in December. While his career hasn't gone exactly like he thought because of the pandemic, the final season is playing out even better than he could have imagined.
"I can't imagine doing anything else right now in the fall," Hawkins said.
Tommy Birch, the Register's sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He's the 2018 and 2020 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468. Follow him on Twitter @TommyBirch.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: One of college football's best quarterbacks plays for Central in Iowa
