On Tuesday night, Cincinnati (Ohio) Moeller four-star defensive tackle Aeneas Hawkins released his commitment date and top schools with a video on Twitter.
Hawkins, a consensus top-250 overall prospect in the 2018 class with more than 20 offers, announced that he will commit on May 10.
“I wanted to get it done before my senior season for sure, but that date’s important because it’s my birthday,” Hawkins told The Clemson Insider. “So, it was a convenient day to do.”
Clemson, which offered in October, Penn State, Ohio State, Alabama and Cincinnati were highlighted in Hawkins’ video. He said they are the schools he is considering the most as it stands now.
“Those are the schools that show me the most love at this point,” Hawkins said. “So, that could change, but as of today those are the schools that contact me the most and the schools because of that I’m looking at the most.”
So, what does Hawkins like about each? He ran through the list:
Penn State: “Their coaching staff’s phenomenal. I love the campus, but coach (Sean) Spencer, their D-line coach, in my opinion is one of the best in the country. I know he uses D-tackles in kind of an athletic way — they’re not just run-stoppers. That’s kind of my style of play, so I like that.”
Ohio State: “Ohio State’s Ohio State. They’re a perennial powerhouse, they’re always really good. It’s in my backyard almost, about an hour and a half away. Coach (Urban) Meyer is a legend. I have a lot of buddies that went to Ohio State, so they’ll be one that’s always in the running.”
Clemson: “At first we started talking, and then they didn’t really talk again, but then they offered and they’ve been in constant contact with me since. Obviously coming off the national championship, that’s big. They’ve always been a great team, but to really cap it off this year shows where they’re going, where coach (Dabo) Swinney’s heading with things.”
Alabama: “’Bama is ‘Bama, man. In my opinion, they’re the best program in college football history. Great coaching staff, great system. They constantly put out first-round draft picks. I haven’t visited yet, so it’s hard for me to talk about their campus or what they’re doing there, but I’m excited for that visit.”
Cincinnati: “That was a school I really wasn’t looking at too heavily with the old coaching staff in there, just because they weren’t really recruiting me very heavily. But when the new coaches came in, they made me a priority quickly. They made other guys throughout the area a priority quickly. That’s a school I grew up rooting for. My dad played there. I went to bowl games for them. That’s a school that just because of those facts and how hard they’re recruiting me every day and how much the fans around here kind of talk to me, they’re going to be tough to beat out no matter what.”
As Hawkins pointed out, Clemson has shown significant interest in him since offering four months ago.
Hawkins said Swinney, defensive coordinator Brent Venables and offensive line coach Robbie Caldwell visited his school last week and talked to his coach for about 30 minutes.
“Once they offered, every day I talked to coach (Marion) Hobby, and I talk to all those guys all the time,” Hawkins said. “They think I can play three-tech or five-tech, whatever they need me to do.”
The 6-foot-3, 260-pounder first visited Clemson for its spring game last April, around the time the Tigers began communicating with him, and said he will likely return for this year’s spring game.
“It’ll probably be the spring game again,” he said. “Junior Days are good, but it’s kind of tough getting down south like that frequently, but I will be there for the spring game hopefully.”
Hawkins is the son of former Cincinnati defensive back Artrell Hawkins, who went on to play 10 years in the NFL. Aeneas is rated as a top-20 defensive end nationally by 247Sports, Rivals and ESPN.