Former Quince Orchard Football Star Excited for First Season at Delaware

As time continued to slowly trickle away, reality began to set in for the Quince Orchard High School football team.

The Cougars, facing Arundel in the 2007 Class 4A state championship, faced a 16-point deficit to the high-powered Wildcats with just more than eight minutes left in the fourth quarter and seemed all but destined to fall short in their quest for an undefeated season as well as the second state championship in school history.

Yet even with the odds completely stacked against them, Travis Hawkins and the Cougars’ offense refused to throw in the towel. After scoring two quick touchdowns to tie the score at 23 late in the fourth quarter, and stopping Arundel’s offense to get the ball back, Quince Orchard needed just one more score to complete an improbable comeback and solidify its standing as the top team in the Class 4A region.

In the biggest moment of the game — and the season for that matter — the Cougars turned to Hawkins. The junior, lined up at wide receiver, sprinted off the line, beat his defender on an in-breaking route toward the middle of the field, caught a pass from quarterback Jaron Morrison and outraced two Wildcats defenders to the end zone for a 78-yard touchdown with just more than a minute remaining in the game, subsequently sealing the comeback and lifting Quince Orchard to its first state title in nearly 20 years.

At his National Signing Day press conference in 2009, after Hawkins had signed a letter of intent to play for the University of Maryland, former Terrapins coach Ralph Friedgen described Hawkins as “just an outstanding football player,” adding that “when Travis is on the field, good things happen.”

Hawkins finished that junior season with Quince Orchard in 2007 with more than 1,100 total yards offensively along with 42 tackles as a starting safety on the Cougars’ defense. He followed that with 11 touchdowns as a senior, seeing time at quarterback, running back and wide receiver, and also tallied 25 tackles and two interceptions at safety, despite most opposing quarterbacks opting to throw away from his side of the field. Following his senior season, he was rated by Rivals.com as a four-star recruit and as the fifth-best player from the state of Maryland in the 2008 recruiting class.

Now, after a disappointing start to his college career with Maryland, Hawkins is looking forward to showcasing that talent as a starting cornerback at the University of Delaware.

Hawkins, who is entering his redshirt sophomore season, transferred from Maryland to Delaware in February. Following a rocky start to spring practice, while transitioning from safety to cornerback, the 5-foot-10, 190-pound Hawkins closed the Blue Hens’ spring practice with a bang, not only establishing himself as a starter but also standing out as one of the stars of Delaware’s annual spring game. During the game, he recorded five tackles, broke up three passes and returned an interception 55 yards for a touchdown to propel the Blue Hens’ defense to a 76-69 victory against the team’s offense.

Hawkins sat out his first year with the Terrapins while redshirting, then posted just two tackles in limited action as a redshirt freshman last season prior to transferring in February.

“I love Delaware so far,” Hawkins said. “I struggled early on, but learned and got better throughout the spring. Never being able to show what I could at Maryland has definitely added fuel to my fire. I’m just so excited for this season to see what I can do.”

Delaware defensive coordinator Nick Rapone is also looking forward to seeing what Hawkins can do, eager to use his impressive combination of size, speed and strength in the Blue Hens’ defense, which runs primarily man-to-man coverage, something which Rapone says will suit Hawkins well.

Hawkins, who has run the 40-yard dash in as fast as 4.42 seconds, has recorded a maximum lift of 350 pounds in the bench press and has also squatted 410 pounds for five repetitions.

Delaware graduated its top five cornerbacks from last year’s team, which finished 12-3 and reached the NCAA Division 1 FCS championship game.

“This is a nice opportunity for him,” Rapone said. “And, in this league, he’ll hopefully be able to become a cornerback that can shut down most wide receivers in this league. That’s what we’re counting on. He proved in the spring that he can come in and instantly help us.”

Rapone added, “He’s big enough, thick enough and physical enough to play some press coverage for us, [challenging receivers, and getting physical with them at the line of scrimmage], and he’s fast enough to be able to run with most receivers in this league as well. He’s a great fit for us.”

Hawkins, though, is just eager to do whatever he can to help the Blue Hens win and hopefully compete for an NCAA Division 1 FCS national championship.

Delaware opens its season against Navy Sept. 3.

“I just can’t wait for Sept. 3,” Hawkins said. “Hopefully, I can go out there and be a shut-down corner or shut-down safety, whatever they need me to do. I’ll play my role, and play it to the fullest, and can hopefully bring a national championship back to Delaware. I’m a team player, and put the team before myself. Whatever they want me to do, I’ll do it.”

Hawkins added, “I just want to be successful and hopefully that will eventually lead me to the next level, [the NFL].”