LavelleHawkins's Blog

Hey Yardbarkers, what's up? So we've been at camp for a couple of weeks now, and I have to say it has been tough so far. It's a lot of work, but I know that I just have to push through. The hardest part for me has been not knowing what's next. As a rookie, you find yourself walking into a situation where a lot folks are pushing you to do this or go over here and do that. And coming out of college as a top athlete, it's hard to get used to things like playing on the scout team. It definitely makes me feel like I'm a freshman all over again, but it's something everyone has to go through. I just have to push through the first year. Of course I also have your basic rookie duties to deal with. I have to do stuff like carry in pads and helmets and buy my receiver group snacks and drinks. Right now I'm actually hiding so I can avoid the vets trying to make me sing. Anytime, if you're eating lunch or whatever, a vet can just walk up to you and tell you sing. So I try to just eat and get out of there as quickly as possible to go to practice or go to my room and rest. In general, I've been getting along well with everyone, but I've been staying to myself a lot. I'm just trying to learn my plays and figure out what I have to do for now. Then later on I'll open up a bit more to the rest of the team. The receiver group here is great, and Vince Young and Kerry Collins are good QBs to work with. We are just working with them and trying to get better every day so we can become one of the best offenses in the NFL. So far, I think we've been doing a great job. It's also nice to have a fellow Cal bear here... Craig Stevens. We saw each other at all the OTAs, but during camp we haven't talked much, since we're both just trying to learn a lot of information in a short amount of time.

Before I headed out to Tennessee for my first training camp, I held a football camp for the kids in my hometown of Stockton, CA. I did this camp because I really wanted to give back. A lot of people wanted me to wait until next year after I'd finished my first year in the NFL so it could be bigger and more organized. I wanted to get started as soon as possible though because giving back was one of the things that I always said I would do. When I was growing up we had a lot of community sports events and trips, and they were an important part of my childhood, so I know how important those things are to the kids. Nowadays, I don't see a lot of those things happening in the community, and that's why kids end up getting in trouble, because there's nothing to do. So I wanted to get this started, and I hope that every year it will get bigger and bigger, and we'll do more and more events to give back. My hope is that the kids will be inspired by hanging out with some of the athletes from the area that have seen success, and that it will lead to a better life for them.

Hey Yardbarkers! Hawk here, and I'm happy to be joining you guys in the Yard. This blogging thing is new to me but I'm looking forward to sharing my rookie experiences with all of you and hearing what you have to say. I just moved from playing college ball at Cal (go Bears!) to playing for the Tennessee Titans, and even though I'm going to miss my college days, I'm proud to be a part of this team. I'm sure I'll have plenty of stories to tell you guys as we go through my first season. I'll be back soon, but until then be sure to leave me some comment love!