Straughn senior running back Jacob Hawkins made his college plans official when he signed his National Letter of Intent to play football next year for the Huntingdon College Hawks on Tuesday morning in the Straughn High School cafeteria.

“I’m just very excited and thankful,” Hawkins said about the signing opportunity as he was surrounded by family and friends. “The people that are here with me today are the ones that have believed in me the whole time. They have probably believed in me more than I have believed in myself.”

The family and friends that witnessed the talented athlete sign his NLI are the ones that he said drives him in life and on the field.

“Honestly, these are the people that have pushed me to be a better person and player,” Hawkins said. “I worked on getting better more for them than I did for myself. There is no way I could have gotten to this point without these guys and the guys that I played with on the field.”

Hawkins said that he looks forward to playing in college and getting his education.

“I’m really looking forward to competing against better athletes to make me better,” Hawkins said. “I plan focusing on my school work and majoring in exercise science. At some point, I will look to transfer somewhere to pursue a degree in physical therapy.”

While excited about college, Hawkins said he will miss and forever love being a Straughn Tiger.

“This place has meant a lot to me,” Hawkins said of Straughn. “From all of the different coaches that I’ve had that have made me better and the goes that I played with that pushed me to compete. At Straughn, I played for the community more than I did for myself. You always know the stands are going to be packed on Friday night. They are there to support us and I wanted to prove to them that Straughn is still what it used to be and always will be.”

Hawkins said that he is grateful for all of the support that he has received from everyone.

“I’m so thankful to the people that have given me this opportunity,” Hawkins said. “I want to thank all of my friends that have believed in me along the way. I want to think guys like Allan George and Jamal Hourel who are also going to school to play ball. When those guys to think about me the way they do and say great job to me. That really does mean a lot to me.”