compete at the next level. That’s not bad, actually. When it comes to Division I football, that figure dwindles to 3 percent. Now we’re talking about a pretty exclusive club. Go one step further — out of that senior group, how many are talented enough to play in the Big Ten, the Big 12, the SEC, or the ACC? Here’s a hint:
It’s small. And just to dive head- first down the rabbit hole, what percentage of players will re- ceive a scholarship to one of these institutions of higher learning? One. Percent. Maybe less. The point of this exercise is to
explain how difficult — how rare — it is to reach the ultimate level on the college football landscape. It takes genetic gifts, an immense amount of hard work, passion, and more ad- ditional ingredients than you can count on your fingers and toes to get there. Will Hawthorne has checked all of those boxes.
••• Will comes by athletic pro- wess naturally. It goes all the way back to his grandfather, who played college football at Navy. His dad, Greg, was a col- legiate tight end at UNI, and his older siblings, Drew and Ava, competed at the next level as well. Drew was a standout
FALL 2024 | GAME ON 45
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