Early Years and Education:

Aaron James Hawk was born on January 6, 1984, in Kettering, Ohio, and grew up in Centerville, both suburbs of Dayton. He attended Centerville High School, where he was a teammate of former Cincinnati Bengals kicker Mike Nugent. As a freshman at Centerville High School, Hawk made the varsity football team. Hawk holds several defensive records and is one of three Centerville Elks high school football players to be drafted in the NFL.

Hawk's records include most tackles in a game on three separate occasions as well as most career tackles for a total of 583. Hawk was a two-time All-State player in high school in 1999 and 2000. After high school, Hawk went on to play College Football for Ohio State where he got the honors of All-American twice and he won the Lombardi Award during his senior year. While at Ohio State University he played for the Coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes Jim Tressel.

In the four years he played for the Buckeyes, Hawk played in 51 games, 38 of which he started for. He had 394 tackles, two fumble recoveries, and three forced fumbles with the two touchdowns. He also had one blocked punt and one interception. Hawk's performance earned him a first for his team for winning all Big Ten Honors in a three year period. During his college years, he also earned the Most Valuable Player award for the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

Career: 

One of Hawk's notable moments was during the 2005 season for the Ohio State Buckeyes when Hawk along with fellow starting linebackers Bobby Carpenter, Anthony Schlegel, and center Nick Mangold, grew their hair out long to honor Pat Tillman. Tillman turned down a National Football League contract worth $3.6 million to join the Army in May 2002. The decision would ultimately claim his life when he was killed by friendly fire on April 22, 2004.

Straight out of college on April 29, 2006, Hawk was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the 1st round of the 2006 NFL Draft. Not only was he a hot pick straight out of college, but he was also the 5th overall pick out of the entire draft. He signed a 6-year contract with the Packers, worth $37.5 million, on July 28, 2006. Hawk gained his first sack in the NFL on September 24, 2006, it was the fourth quarter when he sacked Detroit Lions Quarterback Jon Kitna. 

Hawks career got off to a hot start earning him the NFL Rookie Of The Week on October 23, 2006, after he was influential in winning a game against the Miami Dolphins. It would be the first of two NFL Rookie of the Week awards, Hawk received the second after leading his team to victory against the Minnesota Vikings on November 12, 2006.

Hawk led Green Bay with 12 total tackles in the game and recorded one sack in the Packers' 34–24 victory. For his effort in the November 12, 2006, 23–17 victory over the Minnesota Vikings, Hawk was selected the NFL Rookie of the Week for the second time. Hawk recorded 13 total tackles and 1.5 sacks and forced one fumble. Hawk ended up sacking Vikings quarterback Brad Johnson Early in the third quarter resulting in a 10-yard loss.