After Oklahoma State’s 41-24 win at West Virginia two Saturdays ago, Eric Morris sat down with his team to go over the tape and wanted to highlight a strong throw from quarterback Drew Mestemaker.
Instead, the play turned into a lesson in pass protection. Once Morris showed the clip, he couldn’t stop talking about the block Caleb Hawkins threw on the blitzing defender.
Mestemaker wasn’t about to push back.
"I think he's the best pass-blocking running back in the country," Mestemaker said. "If you look at probably almost every one of our deep shots last week, he's demolishing a guy in pass protection.
"He's stuffing them at the line of scrimmage and not even letting them get close."
That’s the kind of reputation Hawkins is building in the backfield. The sophomore running back has made a real impact as a runner, too, with 441 rushing yards on 83 carries through four games. That works out to 5.3 yards per carry and 110.3 yards per game.
But the blocking has become part of his identity. On about 20% of his snaps, Hawkins has been asked to stay in and help in protection, and teammates say he’s handled it well.
"He puts his head down, gets in there," offensive lineman Joseph Hanson said. "You love to see it.
You love to see your running back get in there and get dirty with it. But you always want to be protecting as much as you can and try to get him out and get the runs."
Hawkins is honest about the challenge. He’s had a couple of plays this season where pressure got through to Mestemaker, and he knows pass protection is a different skill from the one most running backs spend their lives refining.
"I can't speak for all Oklahoma people, but from my standpoint, not a lot of (running backs) pass block," Hawkins said.
That’s part of why running backs coach Patrick Cobbs has leaned into teaching it. Cobbs, who had a stellar playing career at North Texas, also spent five years in the NFL and understands the value of a back who can pick up a blitz and keep the quarterback upright.
Hawkins said Cobbs spent all summer bringing him in to study film and learn what blitzes look like and how to sort them out.
"Coach Cobbs helped me tremendously," Hawkins said. "All summer, he had me coming in just to watch film, to see what blitzing really looks like and how to pick up blitzes. That really helped a lot."
For Hawkins and Oklahoma State, the payoff has shown up in the little things that don’t always get the headline - except when the coaches and quarterbacks notice them immediately.
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