Iowa State linebacker commit Will Hawthorne had himself quite the weekend.
On Friday, Hawthorne led Gilbert to a 36-18 win over Carroll, while rushing for 201 yards. The next day, he was in Iowa City watching his future school beat its premier, in-state rival.
“It’s definitely exciting,” Hawthorne said. “As a senior on the team, I’ve seen all of these other juniors and sophomores grow on both the weight room and the field – even just maturing as high school guys. It’s fun to be out there as the older guy, because I can take that role model part of that leadership role. Most of the guys look up to me, and I really enjoy that… it’s fun to lead the guys, especially with me not seeing the sideline very often.”
Hawthorne added one of the three receptions completed in the game (quarterback Ethan Rash finished the game 3-5 through the air) as well as 4.5 tackles during the game.
The Gilbert senior is rated as the top linebacker in the state by 247 Sports, and committed to Iowa State over Nebraska when decision day came earlier this summer.
Saturday, he got to Kyle Konrardy’s eventual game-winning field goal in Iowa State’s 20-19 Cy-Hawk win.
“I was with my whole family – my parents, my brother and his girlfriend were all there,” Hawthorne said. “It was a fun watch, I can’t lie. “I loved the field goal at the end because Kinnick got so loud, and once it went through the uprights, it was so quiet.”
Hawthorne paid close attention to Cael Brezina, who’s one year older than him, and the rest of the Iowa State linebackers during the game.
“It showed adversity,” Hawthorne said. “There were so many people out and I think Sadowsky even got hurt on special teams. They just had to go through so many guys and guys had to step up. I thought it just showed how resilient that linebacker room is. Cael Brezina played great – I was always watching him. He’s really talented and a big guy, too. That was really exciting for me to watch gives me even more confidence in the talent I’ll have around me when I get (to Iowa State).”
Hawthorne will keep his focus on the field, as he tries to help Gilbert to a playoff spot and whatever comes with it.
The Tigers won their first six games a year ago before dropping the final three – they take on Mason City at home on Friday.
“It’s great to start out hot, but it’s not about how hot you are at the beginning of the season,” Hawthorne said. “It’s about if you can keep that momentum in the back half of the season and make it into the playoffs.”
