Hawkins is arguably the marquee recruit of this year's class (perhaps of the last few classes) and the first big get by new Buffalo Bulls head coach Lance Leipold.

He comes to Buffalo after getting offers from a fleet of big name P5 schools this summer before transferring to Mill Creek. Prior to his senior season he had played at Central Gwinnett High School, but transferred to Mill Creek High School because of the school’s high ranking in academics.

"I moved for academic reasons. My dad heard about Mill Creek and decided it would be a good fit me for me. I also heard other people talk about Mill Creek and how good their academics are." - Johnathan Hawkins.

Steeping up into a "higher division" of Georgia football did not hurt his production as Hawkins managed to average more than 100 yards a game. He put up those numbers in hist first season of a new system and while sharing time with DeVozea Gaines, an establish starter at Mill Creek.

Buffalo has a better-than-good history with running backs. The last two feature backs from UB are now playing in the NFL for Green Bay (James Starks) and San Diego (Branden Oliver). The current starter, Anthone Taylor, would likely have passed both of them in single-season rushing yardage had Kent State's equipment truck not gotten lost on the way to Buffalo. With Hawkins coming on board there is a good chance that the tradition of UB backs continues another four or five years.