Louisville football: Where the ACC went right and wrong with All-Conference Teams

Javian Hawkins, RB

How he got here: Just about every single member of Card Nation, including the coaching staff it seemed, thought that sophomore Hassan Hall would be the guy who would step forward as the “workhorse” running back for Scott Satterfield in his first season. Up until the very end of fall camp, we all looked to be right, until the emergence of Javian Hawkins happened.

Hawkins got the nod in Louisville’s season opener against Notre Dame and never looked back, becoming one of the most dangerous ball carriers in all of college football.

It started with the 122-yard performance in his first career start against Notre Dame – a performance that Scott Satterfield described as “winning football.” Then came another 100-plus yard performance, and then a 150-plus yard performance, then a record-breaking game against Clemson, and before you knew it Hawkins had become the first running back to break the 1,000-yard mark since Bilal Powell, on way to finishing with 1,420 yards total.

Throughout the season, Hawkins improved as a runner each and every game showing Louisville’s opponents that despite his size he wasn’t going to go down easy. He broke tackles, he showed an electric spin move (legit, probably the best in the country) and the ability to blow-by anyone.

Hawkins’ emergence played a huge role in Louisville’s big step on the offensive side of the ball and of course, was instrumental in Satterfield being able to implement the style of offense he wanted as quickly as he did.

There was not a more important running back in the ACC to their team than Hawkins and I’ll stand by that no matter what.

Making the case for first-team All-ACC: Even with two world-class running backs in Travis Etienne and AJ Dillon featured on the All-ACC, I still believe there’s a big case to make for Hawkins taking one of those two spots.

Hawkins finished second in the ACC in rushing yards with 1,420 yards, doing so on 241 carries, averaging nearly six yards per carry behind one of the more mediocre (statistically) offensive lines. While Dillon and Etienne absolutely blew Hawkins out of the water with touchdowns, totaling 18 and 16 respectively, Hawkins oftentimes was subbed out in goal-line or short-yardage situations for the bigger back in Hassan Hall, costing him a couple more chances at touchdowns. Let’s also not fail to mention that Hawkins did all of this in just his first full season for Louisville as a redshirt freshman at just 5’9, 182 pounds.

The statistics tell a lot of the story, but not all of it. To me, there’s a serious case that could be made that Hawkins was pound-for-pound the best back in the ACC and the most important to his team’s success – all of which points to him at least deserving to be in the conversation for First-Team All-ACC.

Hassan Hall, AP

How he got here (2nd & 3rd team):

There wasn’t a player on this Louisville football team that was more overlooked than back-up running back and an all-around solid player in Hassan Hall.

Entering the season, Hall appeared to be the clear-cut favorite to lead the team as the Cards’ starting running back. All the tools were there: strong lower body, excellent through contact, skilled running through the gaps or on the edge, great pass-catcher out of the backfield, and fantastic break-away speed.

If there was one positive to take away from the disaster that was the final season of the Petrino era, it was Hall’s sensational play in limited snaps.

All of the confidence that fans had that Hall would be the starter, however, was for naught after Javian Hawkins started at running back to begin the season. In the week leading up to the game, most assumed that perhaps Hall wasn’t at 100 percent or Hawkins was a better match-up against Notre Dame to open the season.

What actually happened though was that Javian Hawkins was really stinking good and he just happened to fit Louisville’s offense a little bit better than Hall.

The sophomore Hall didn’t hang his head though. He assumed a role that most wouldn’t have expected and excelled as a multi-purpose back and electric kick returner.

The result of Hall’s determination? 545 yards and five touchdowns from scrimmage and 1,276 all-purpose yards and six total touchdowns.

Why the ACC got it right: Name a better utility guy in the ACC…Perhaps Virginia’s Joe Reed, who edged Hall for first-team honors. Outside of a handful of players, nobody in the ACC has been more valuable as an all-around weapon than Hall.

Hall actually returned 10 more kick-offs in 2018, but not nearly as effectively. He has been so deadly in the return game that opponents have resorted to whatever necessary to keep the ball out of his hands.

That’s first-team caliber play if you ask me.