INDIANAPOLIS — Former Georgia Tech tight end Jackson Hawes doesn’t mind being called a “throwback” player because of his tenacious blocking.
“I’ve heard that a bunch from the scouts, kind of like a true Y (blocking tight end),” Hawes said Thursday at the scouting combine.
A “F” is a pass-catching tight end.
“I think the tight end position in recent years in the NFL has gone a little bit away from that in-line (blocking) tight end as teams are passing more,” Hawes said. “I think the NFL is interesting because teams will start passing more. Defenses will adjust to that. They’ll get back to the run. It’s a big cycle.”
That’s where Hawes comes in.
To have strong rushing attack, teams need a good-blocking tight end to open the perimeter. Hawes will try to follow his strong showing at the Senior Bowl with a good workout at the combine.
“It will be really interesting to see what team picks me and uses me,” said Hawes, who played at Yale before transferring to Tech. “I wouldn’t necessarily say a throwback, but it’s just kind of the way it goes. The way the league goes.”
Hawes started the season weighing 258 pounds and said he was around 255 by the end of the season. He prefers to play in the 250- to 260-pound range.
He played at Yale from 2019-23. He thought he could be an undrafted player and or maybe a late-round pick. But decided to transfer to Tech, play in the ACC and try to improve his draft status.
“I came in, and knew I only had a year,” Hawes said.
He worked hard to establish good relationships with his new teammates.
“I had to earn respect on the field,” said Hawes, who earned his degree in economics from Yale. “That kind of look like doing really well in mat drills. Doing really well competing with the guys in (the) weight room ... lifting some heavy weight and pushing guys around.”
The first semester went well, and then it was time for spring practice.
“(I was trying to) make plays, make good blocks and be physical out of the field,” Hawes said. “Those were some of the ways that I was able to increase my role.”
Hawes’ brutally physical style of play doesn’t seem to match with a congenial personality.
“Off the field, I’m pretty enthusiastic, Labrador retriever-type of guy,” Hawes said. “On the field, I’m definitely looking to punish. I’m looking to put my face mask underneath guys chinstrap.”
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