Veteran Wolverine On OSU: ‘We Won That Game for Coach Harbaugh’

On Jan 28, 2022

His career stats at the University of Michigan don’t necessarily jump off of the page, but defensive back Brad Hawkins played a critical role in Michigan’s success during the 2021 season.

During his five-year playing career at U-M, Hawkins appeared in a program-record 56 career games, with 31 starts at free safety. As a four-year letterman and an alternate captain, Hawkins played a critical role in helping to establish the leadership and brotherhood that led to much of Michigan’s success in 2021.

“Starting in January in winter workouts, me, Aidan Hutchinson, Josh Ross, Cade McNamara, all the leaders on the team, the captains, we came together and we got this leadership group going on, something that we didn’t do the other years I was there,” Hawkins said on PFF’s Tailgate podcast. “We got a leadership group and met every week, and the younger guys bought in, they listened to us. When we wanted something done, we let it be known, and they did it. There was no fussing, and everybody was on the same page.”

With the right type of leadership finally in place, the Wolverines turned their focus to Ohio State – committing to get the job done in 2021.

“Going into Ohio State, I feel like we had our best preparation week that we had all year,” Hawkins said. “Everybody was bought in. Everybody was focused; there were no distractions all year. We went into that game so confident that we knew we were going to win that game.”

The confidence that Michigan was feeling inside of the locker room clearly translated to the field that day, as the Wolverines pummeled the Buckeyes en route to a convincing 42-27 victory.