Paul Alexander On Tanner Hawkinson. Paul Guenther & Marvin Lewis on Sean Porter
By Jason Marcum
Apr 28, 2012; Lawrence, KS, USA; Kansas Jayhawks offensive lineman Tanner Hawkinson (72) on the sidelines in the first half of the Spring Game at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports
Speaking with the media today, Bengals offensive line coach Paul Alexander had the following to say about their fifth-round selection, Kansas offensive lineman Tanner Hawkinson:
"Initial comments: PA: “Tanner Hawkinson. He’s a great guy. He’s a smart guy; economics major, already graduated, very athletic, tremendously athletic. He’s quick, can sustain, rare that way. He reminds me in some ways, not as good, but similar in style to how (Eric) Steinbach was. I’m very happy to get the kid. He plays the piano. We may have to play a duet together. He’s smart, he’s a great character guy, team captain, very competitive, a nice All-American boy, perfect guy. Why is he still there? He needs to get stronger and he’s kind of a young guy body-wise, maybe a little bit behind some others, and is going to mature and get stronger and grow into it and, hopefully, be a great NFL player.” Kansas head coach Charlie Weis said Hawkinson’s feet were as good as any lineman he had in college football: PA: “He has exceptionally quick feet, like Steinbach, really. He has Steinbach’s feet, which was really impressive. He’s not Steinbach. He’s an impressive kid, he really is. We had him high on our board coming in first thing this morning. We didn’t think he’d be there by now, we really didn’t. He’s weird; some people have him lower, some people have him higher. It depends what you got. The big negative was he did 13 (reps) on the bench at his Pro Day. Which 13 on the bench? Come on. But the issue was he jammed his wrist a couple weeks before doing some pass pro drills and only had two weeks to prepare for it. We got a confirmation from his strength coach that he done 19, which isn’t great, but it’s better than 13. So he’s got to get stronger; that’s his issue. It’s easier to get a little stronger than it is to get quicker feet; I know that. We’ve had some good guys that started out as tight ends; Steinbach was, Rich Braham was. Levi Jones was a defensive player and all the kind of stuff. So I like that in a player who has that athleticism.”"