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University of Minnesota Athletics
Future Gopher Q&A: Chris Hawthorne
7/8/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
Next in our series of interviews with new Golden Gophers is sophomore kicker Chris Hawthorne (Raleigh, N.C.). Hawthorne enrolled at Minnesota in January after spending a season at North Carolina State. In the Wolfpack's game against Wake Forest last season, he took over as primary placekicker and went 5-for-5 on extra point attempts as well as making a field goal.
A former soccer player, Hawthorne has only been playing football for two years. In his one year kicking at Leesville Road High School, he made 8-of-8 field goal attempts and 44-of-46 point-after-touchdown attempts. He also served as the team's punter.
Gophersports.com: Why did you choose Minnesota?
Chris Hawthorne: My kicking coach knew Coach Kill pretty well. After talking with Coach Kill for awhile, and he talked with my parents and won them over, I did some research into the school and really liked it. I've always been a pro-Big Ten person my whole life since my parents went to Michigan. So it just made sense for me.
Gophersports.com: How do you think being here since January has helped you get ready for the season?
Chris Hawthorne: I think it helped me settle down academically. Minnesota was really, really hard for me to adjust to academically because the classes were so big and the professors were incredibly smart. Academically, I think it helped me adapt more than anything. Football-wise, I got used to Coach Kill's practice style--him messing with our heads during practice and really challenging us mentally. I think that was the biggest adjustment for me.
Gophersports.com: Were there any particular teammates who helped you get settled in?
Chris Hawthorne: I think the rest of the special teams guys, especially Adam Lueck and Jake Filkins, really helped me out. Lueck's been here for awhile, so he knows the ropes. He's obviously been here when they've had different coaches and different circumstances, but they really helped me settle. Gabe Mezzenga hosted me on my official visit and really helped me to get settled, and really the entire team in general was really good about just asking if I needed anything and offering help if I ever needed it.
Gophersports.com: How do you like campus?
Chris Hawthorne: I love it. It's a great location. It's kind of unfortunate how much snow it gets in the winter, but if you can look past that, I think it's really aesthetically gorgeous and the people up here are as friendly as they are back home, so it made me feel at home. The classes are great. It's just a great fit. I love it up here.
Gophersports.com: How exactly did you start playing football your senior year?
Chris Hawthorne: Our kicker graduated my junior year of high school. I played on the varsity soccer team since I was a freshman. I had always known my offensive coordinator pretty well through classes and stuff, but I had never played football. He asked me one day during a class if I had ever considered just going out and practicing. I told him I would do it, and I went out and kicked a few balls and I kind of liked it and then realized that if I really worked at it, it would be kind of easy to get adjusted to. It was kind of different in North Carolina--high school soccer and football are in the same season, so I had to kind of balance both teams and then obviously school. I had to work with both coaches to make sure that I was where I needed to be when I needed to be there. But both sets of coaches that I had were really good. It was great playing for a really good school that I love still.
Gophersports.com: How different is your football kicking style from your soccer kicking style?
Chris Hawthorne: You just have to hit the ball differently. It's a different motion. The big difference for me is not always being in motion like you are when you play soccer. In soccer you usually run seven, eight miles a game. I was so used to running around trying to get the ball and then doing something with it versus (football) kicking--you're in more of a static position and you have to be ready whenever the team calls on you. It's different, but there are some similarities to it. You're still swinging your leg. You're still trying to eventually through the uprights just like in soccer you're trying to get it through the goal posts.
Gophersports.com: Do you ever play pick-up soccer?
Chris Hawthorne: The coaches kind of wanted me not to, just because it's kind of detrimental to your form. If the opportunity presents itself to try to play again once I'm done playing football, I definitely want to because I miss it a lot. But I'm truly blessed to be able to say that I play football now and that I'm playing with the group of guys up here that I'm playing with.
Gophersports.com: What are your goals for this upcoming season?
Chris Hawthorne: I want to do well academically. I did well last semester, but I want to improve even more and try to really solidify my GPA and everything. On the football field, I set big personal goals which I'm going to keep to myself, but I just want to help the team win. I think that with the coaches that we have and the kind of players that we have, I think it's very feasible for us to have more than a winning season and really compete for a Big Ten championship. Once everyone starts believing that--everybody around the program, everybody within the program--we'll be really dangerous. I think the biggest goal for us as team this year is to compete and win for a Big Ten championship. That's what I hope to do.
Gophersports.com: What are your long-term goals for your career at Minnesota?
Chris Hawthorne: I want to win a Big Ten championship before I leave. I want to win a national championship before I leave. I don't think any of those are unrealistic whatsoever. I was privileged at the school I was at previously to contend for an ACC championship after getting picked preseason to finish last. So, what people say before the year doesn't matter. I think that anything's truly possible. I think that we can do that. Within the special teams part of the team, I think that we want to try to be among the best special teams in the country, if not the best special teams. Coach Sawvel and Coach Kill are working hard to make sure that we do that, so hopefully we can get that done.
Gophersports.com: Do you have any favorite foods or restaurants?
Chris Hawthorne: There's a really good chicken and biscuits place back in North Carolina called Bojangles', which is kind of a favorite. But up here, it would probably be Raising Cane's.
Gophersports.com: Is there anything else you would like to tell Gopher fans?
Chris Hawthorne: We have all the right pieces in place to be consistently a Top 25 program. The biggest thing that they can do for us is to pack TCF Bank Stadium every Saturday to make it as hard for people to come in and win as possible. They play a huge role. Once they really start believing in us, the sky's the limit. I think we'll have a good year this year, and I think we'll have good years for years to come.
-Interview by Athletic Communications Assistant Justine Buerkle
