#StormTop10 Individual Performances No. 10: Hawkins sets punting record

This year, SimpsonAthletics.com is publishing two #StormTop10 lists. Individual Performances showcases the best single-game, individual outings of the season, while Greatest Moments highlights the top team, single-season and career efforts. The lists were voted on by the Simpson coaching staff and will be unveiled each weekday beginning with #StormTop10 Individual Performances.

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#StormTop10 Individual Performances No. 10: Hawkins sets punting record

Junior punter/wide receiver Nathan Hawkins hadn't punted for the Storm in a varsity football game before taking the field Oct. 22, 2016 against Loras. 

He made a great first impression.

Hawkins set a school-record by averaging 52.7 yards on six punts, helping the Storm to a 30-0 win over Loras at Buxton Stadium. He had three punts of 50-plus yards, forcing Loras to dig itself out of poor field position all day long. He pinned Loras inside the 20 four times and boomed a 66-yarder, the fifth-longest in school history.

That was just the beginning for Hawkins, who earned IIAC Special Teams Player of the Week honors and was named to the D3football Team of the Week. The following week he boomed a 70-yard punt and had three of 50 yards or more against Nebraska Wesleyan, landing on the national team of the week a second time. 

Hawkins earned honorable mention all-conference honors at season's end, finishing with seven punts of 50-or-more yards while pinning opponents inside their own 20-yard line 10 times in just 24 attempts.