Brayden Hawkins A Diamond in the Gridiron

By Coach Gerald “boo” Mitchell

Being a High School Football coach for the past sixteen years has afforded me many

great things. The first of which has been the opportunity to share in a vast array of experiences

with kids from various walks of life who, along with me, have experienced the lowest of the

lows and the highest of the highs in both football and life.

The second best thing that it has given me is the experience in being around some of the greatest football players in the world today. Players like Cameron Heyward, Kevin Minter and Bradley Roby, all of whom I coached. There are so

many others that I was forced to face as opponents such as Brice Butler, Max Garcia, and Ja’Wuan James who were players that I watched come up through the Gwinnett Football League (GFL) in the northeastern suburbs of Atlanta, GA.  All of the aforementioned players are currently playing in the NFL today! I don’t say that to brag at all, but I do say it hoping that I can get you to understand that I have seen greatness up close and I know what it looks like.

I have seen it, coached it, watched it coached, watched it get recruited, watched it get offered, watched it commit, watched it de-commit, watched it re-commit, watched it get drafted, and just this past weekend even watched it get a “Pick 6” in an NFL game.

Through my radio show “Straight From The Hip” on The Play Book Radio Network, I have had the opportunity to share my experiences and my knowledge with coaches, parents, and players from all over the country. I have also received a highlight tape or two from some of my listeners. Now people who listen to my show can tell you that I am going to “keep it 100” one hundred percent of the time! Not all of the tapes that I get are of 4 and 5 star players. However, there are several that I have seen who are players with amazing talent who possess outstanding physical attributes. But for some reason or another they don’t have any stars behind their names or very many offers, if any on the table from colleges!

“How can this be?”, you ask. Unfortunately it is something that happens every year. Players get overlooked for one reason or another and miss the opportunity to extend their athletic career on the next level. It is these players who have prompted me to create this article called “Diamonds in the Gridiron” where I will highlight just such an athlete each week in an effort to give him additional exposure to help him with his journey and his college aspirations.

In “keeping it 100”, I will tell you that there was no doubt in my mind who would be in the first installment of this article. I have never seen this young man in person, but I have seen MANY highlight films of him. I have shared his highlight films with high school and college coaches who are all amazed at his talent. He is a duel-threat quarterback who stands at 6’ 3” and weighs about 210 pounds. He is a high school junior (Class of 2018) who is so far, through eight games this year, averaging over 300 yards per game passing. In most of those games he is being pulled by the third quarter in an effort to protect him from injury in lopsided victories for his team. Some of the other people to whom I have spoken in the “Who’s Who in the World of Recruiting” have told me that if this young man lived in the State of Georgia instead of in the State of South Carolina that his recruiting experience would be totally different.

He has earned a pretty good name in the small town of Dillon where he lives, but he hopes that his name will become a household name throughout the country. Ladies and gentlemen, please allow me to introduce you to BRAYDEN HAWKINS… http://www.hudl.com/video/3/5398077/57e935f7ed57ee46d8603bf2.

Now that you have seen his highlights, I am sure that like me you are wondering why it is that he has no real offers to speak of from any colleges, especially D-1 schools. Brayden has the size at 6’ 3” to be a quarterback on any level. He has shown that he has the arm strength to make any throw, including the ability to go “downtown” to any deep threat that might line up as wide receiver for him. He’s not just a pocket passer as you were able to see from his highlights. He also possesses the ability to run the read option and escape would-be rushers attempting to sack him in an effort to extend pass plays allowing receivers to have additional time to get open. In short, Brayden Hawkins is the TOTAL PACKAGE!

Hudl Highlights