Ahmad Hawkins Gets a Fresh Start in Grand Rapids
Randy Snow
Saturday March 8, 2008
One of the players present was DB Ahmad Hawkins, who was acquired during the off-season in a dispersal draft from the (now defunct) Nashville Kats. Hawkins played for the Colorado Crush from 2003-2006 and was with Nashville in 2007. He was named Defensive Player of the Game in ArenaBowl XIX in 2005 while he was with the Crush. He led the League with 13 interceptions last season.
Hawkins has played against the Rampage many times in his five-year AFL career and he has seen the team go through some tough times. But he also said he is glad that he was picked up by Grand Rapids.
“My goal is to come in here and change the mentality of the team,” Hawkins said. “We have a lot of talent (on this team). It reminds me of the Colorado team when we won the championship as far as receivers.”
While Arena Football is a game where offense gets most of the attention, Coach Thonn did not neglect the defense when he was assembling the team during the off-season.
“We had a chance to get Ahmad (in the dispersal draft). It really was a no-brainer when he was available at that third pick,” Thonn said. “Ahmad has done a great job (in camp) working with the DB’s. He’s kind of the quarterback of the defense. Ahmad is the guy we look to to call the signals.”
“My job in the defensive backfield is to try and make sure that everyone is on the same page,” Hawkins said.
Coach Thonn and Ahmad Hawkins may be new to Rampage, but they both share the same desire, to bring another ArenaBowl championship to the city of Grand Rapids.
Hines Returns
WR Anthony Hines returns to the Rampage after spending last season with the Austin Wranglers and the Kansas City Brigade. Hines was with Grand Rapids in 2005 and 2006 and led GR in scoring in 2006 with 174 points.
Michael Bishop Update
Former Rampage quarterback Michael Bishop has signed a contract extension with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League that will run through the 2010 season. Bishop played for GR in 2004, 2005 and 2007. He became the AFL’s single season rushing leader in 2005 with 459 total yards. He was also the first player in AFL history to rush for 100 yards in a single game that same season. He won a CFL Grey Cup championship in 2004 with the Argos while splitting time between the CFL and the AFL.
Season Opener
After having to endure a bye in week one of the regular season, the Rampage will play their season opener this Monday night (March 10) at home against the defending ArenaBowl Champion San Jose SaberCats. San Jose lost their season opener last Monday night on the road to the Chicago Rush.
Randy Snow covered the Grand Rapids Rampage of the Arena Football League for ArenaFan from 2003-2008. He also covered the Fort Wayne Fusion of arenafootball2 in 2007. From 2004-2008 and in 2010, he was a member of the Arena Football League Writer’s Association and, since 2011, has been a member of the Professional Football Researchers Association. Randy lives in Kalamazoo, Michigan but will travel just about anywhere for a football game or a great football story. He runs the web site www.theworldoffootball.com and hosts a podcast with his son, Adam, called “This Week in The World of Football.”
