Way too early Louisville football depth chart: Running back
Starter: Javian Hawkins
Redshirt sophomore
There may not be a player Louisville football fans are more excited to see return to action than starting running back Javian Hawkins.
After entering his redshirt freshman year as an unknown commodity, he left Louisville’s first game as the talk of the fan base. The entire offseason leading up to the season opener at Notre Dame, most assumed Hassan Hall was Louisville’s best option at running back. However, when the Cardinals released the official depth chart in the weeks prior, Hawkins was listed first. Still, many saw that as perhaps a way to push Hall. I don’t think anyone outside of the team and coaching staff saw what was coming next.
1,525 rushing yards later, Hawkins has everyone’s attention. The fourth-leading returning rusher in 2020, no running back in the country has seen a higher uptick in attention than the rising redshirt sophomore out of Titusville, Florida.
Hawkins has more rushing yards in a single season in school history than any player not named Lamar Jackson, and there’s nothing in his game that says he can’t improve on what we saw last season. He is an every down back but his combination of lower body strength and burst once he gets to the second-level makes him tough to prepare for.
Louisville and Hawkins proved that he has the capability of being a workhorse type of back in 2019 after he averaged more than 20 carries per game.
Now, the final step for Hawkins appears to be simply adding some versatility to his game. He only caught six passes in 2019- A number that is almost certain to go up- and for all of the excellent production the Cards got out of him, Hawkins only has 9 touchdowns to show for it.
Look for Hawkins to become a smarter player in his second year in the starting role as he becomes more adept at reading defenses, finding holes, and making the right cutbacks when necessary.
Of all the weapons Louisville has in its arsenal, Hawkins could be the most lethal in 2020.