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HIGHLIGHTS
AT ILLINOIS
2011 - Junior: Honorable Mention All-Big Ten by the coaches and media ... Played in all 13 games, making 11 starts at cornerback ... Also took over punt return duties late in the season ... Had 60 tackles, 5.0 TFLs, a team-high three interceptions and a team-high 11 passes defended on the season ... Tied for the Big Ten lead in passes defended per game (0.85) ... Earned Defensive Player of the Game honors in Illinois' win over UCLA in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl after scoring the go-ahead touchdown on a 39-yard interception return ... Also recorded five tackles, 1.5 TFLs and a PBU, and returned four punts for 31 yards against UCLA ... Recorded three tackles, a half-TFL and two PBUs against Minnesota ... Led the Illini with a career-high 15 tackles, one forced fumble and one QB hurry against Wisconsin ... Posted two tackles and one TFL and returned his first punt for six yards against Michigan ... Recorded three tackles and one interception against Penn State ... Led team with nine tackles, including a career-high eight solos, along with an interception and a career-high three PBUs against Western Michigan ... Shared the team lead with eight tackles, including one TFL and a PBU in win over Arizona State ... Recorded one tackle and one TFL against South Dakota State ... Posted four tackles in season-opener against Arkansas State.
2010 - Sophomore: Played in eight games on the season, making one start ... Missed five games (the first four games and the Minnesota game) due to injury ... Had 28 tackles, 3.5 TFLs, three PBUs and one interception on the season ... Made his first start of the season in the Texas Bowl, where he led the team with a career-high nine tackles, including seven solos, and 1.5 TFLs in the win over Baylor ... Had four tackles and a half-TFL at Fresno State ... Tallied two tackles and a PBU in win over Northwestern ... Recorded three tackles and two PBUs at Michigan ... Secured his only interception of the season and had four tackles and one TFL in win over Indiana ... Tallied three tackles, including his first TFL of the season against Michigan State ... Preseason first-team All-Big Ten by Phil Steele's College Football Preview ... Preseason third-team All-Big Ten by Athlon Sports.
2009 - Freshman: Earned Freshman All-Big Ten honors from The Sporting News ... Played in all 12 games, making five starts ... Had 30 tackles, five PBUs and one interception which was returned for a TD on the season ... Recorded four tackles and a career-best three PBUs against No. 5 Cincinnati ... Recorded first career interception and returned it 44 yards for a touchdown in win over Minnesota ... Also had a career-high five solo tackles and a PBU against Gophers ... Recorded season-best six tackles, including a touchdown saver from behind in win over Michigan ... Returned four kickoffs for 74 yards, including a long of 22 against Penn State.
High School: Parade All-American ... Named nation's top receiver by Parade Magazine ... USA Today All-American ... Listed as the 58th-best player in the country by Rivals.com ... SuperPrep All-American ... SuperPrep Midwest Offensive Player of the Year ... Champaign News-Gazette Player of the Year ... St. Louis Post-Dispatch first-team All-State and All-Metro Defensive Player of the Year ... Champaign News-Gazette All-State ... Ranked No. 54 on PrepStar's Dream Team ... Named the No. 3 player in the Midwest by SuperPrep ... MaxPreps first-team All-American ... Named to the EA Sports All-America team ... A four-star recruit by Rivals.com ... MaxPreps top-100 player ... Ranked the No. 6 wide receiver nationally by Rivals.com ... Three-year starter for East St. Louis ... No. 1 player in the state of Illinois by Rivals.com ... A four-star recruit by Scout.com ... Scored 28 touchdowns and recorded 1,009 receiving yards as a senior ... Also ran back four interceptions for touchdowns ... Averaged 21 yards per catch in 2008 ... Played receiver, defensive back, punter and returned punts as both a junior and senior ... Rated the 11th-best receiver by Scout.com ... Registered 1,100 yards receiving as a junior and scored 15 touchdowns ... Recorded 118 tackles and eight interceptions, three returned for touchdowns ... Also posted a 44.8 punting average, 263 punt return yards and scored 132 points for his Illinois 7A State Championship team ... Ranked the No. 12 receiver nationally by Tom Lemming ... High school coach was Darren Sunkett.
Personal: Born on Jan. 1, 1990 ... Son of Diane Hawthorne and Ricky McGary ... Enrolled in the general curriculum ... Nickname is Black Cat ... Chose Illinois over Arizona, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas Tech.
CAREER HIGHS
Tackles: 15 vs. Wisconsin, 11/19/11
Solos: 8 vs. Western Michigan, 9/24/11
TFL: 1.5, twice (last vs. UCLA, 12/31/11)
Interception: 1, five times (last vs. UCLA, 12/31/11)
Interception Return Yards: 44 at Minnesota, 11/7/09
Touchdown: 1, twice (last vs. UCLA, 12/31/11)
PBU: 3, twice (last vs. Western Michigan, 9/24/11)
Kickoff Returns: 4 vs. Penn State, 10/3/09
Kickoff Return Yardage: 74 vs. Penn State, 10/3/09
Long Kickoff Return: 22 vs. Penn State, 10/3/09
Punt Returns: 4 vs. UCLA, 12/31/11
Punt Return Yardage: 31 vs. UCLA, 12/31/11
Long Punt Return: 11 vs. UCLA, 12/31/11
Hawthorne's Statistics:
(updated 5/24/12)
