Hoping he's found a home

MANKATO

More than 90 players donned a Vikings jersey for training camp practices during the past three weeks. Some were all but guaranteed a roster spot. Others had no chance. Some are fighting on the fringe.

They all have a story.

This is Mike Hawkins':

Go back eight years to June 1999. He is 16 years old, sitting in his father's car. The son has chafed in what he later calls an "abusive" environment.

They are heading to an aunt's house. His father doesn't want him. His mother is a drug addict. He can't stand the thought of living with his father's relatives.

He grabs his bags and sets out. He has $40 in his pocket. His new address: Fair Park in Dallas. Between his sophomore and junior years in high school, Mike Hawkins is homeless.

He eats most meals at a nearby McDonald's. He also bathes there in a bathroom sink, or sometimes in swimming pools. Pumps gas for extra change.

Mostly, he is just alone.

"I cried so much, I didn't think I could cry anymore," he said.

When the $40 could stretch no further, he walks to a friend's house. He stashes his bags behind some bushes, just in case. The friends catch up, hang out. That night, his friend's mother suggests he go home.

"I don't have one," Hawkins tells her.

So Trina Roberts took over. She sends him to live with her sister and brother-in-law in suburban Dallas. Eric and Amy Ganison buy him clothes, enroll him at Turner High School and encourage him to try out for the football team.

By 2001, Mike Hawkins is a SuperPrep All-America cornerback. Opponents had managed three catches against him in two seasons.

He is 6-1, weighs almost 200 pounds and has sprinter's speed. Suddenly, everyone wants him. He accepts a scholarship to Oklahoma, a school two years removed from a national championship.

The Sooners play him as a true freshman in 2002. He returns an interception 45 yards for a touchdown, plays in six games and then buckles. Packs his bags a day after the Big 12 championship game.

"I love the coaches at Oklahoma," he says now. "They were hard on me because they wanted me to fulfill my potential. I didn't realize that. I just heard yelling and screaming and cursing. I already had that in my life from my father. So it was hard to sit there and take that from another man."

Mike Hawkins is back in Dallas. He takes jobs at a Nissan dealership and at a Wendy's restaurant. Odd jobs for food money. That fall, the local Arena League team holds an open tryout.

Now 19, he coughs up a $45 fee and joins 430 other hopefuls. By the end of the week, he is one of two new players for the Dallas Desperados. Longtime Dallas Cowboys assistant Joe Avezzano is his head coach. Hawkins is one of the youngest players in league history.

He plays the 2004 season and part of 2005. He has met an agent, Alex Balic, who suggests he join other NFL hopefuls in predraft workouts.

During informal sessions, he runs the 40-yard dash in 4.32 seconds. The scouts hear about it and come flying in.

This time, Mike Hawkins runs a 4.28.

"It kind of took off after that," he says.

The Green Bay Packers make him a fifth-round draft pick in 2005. He plays 11 games as a rookie, starting one. Injured last summer, Hawkins is released and plays seven games for Cleveland. The Vikings claim him on waivers with a week remaining in the season.

In his third NFL training camp, Hawkins, 24 now, is fighting on the fringe. He is behind at least five other cornerbacks on the depth chart. Defensive backs coach Joe Woods says he is still learning some of the Vikings' coverage techniques. "It's good to have him out here," Woods says.

If you look closely, you will see him on the field late Friday night against the New York Jets. His future is uncertain. His story is fluid.

But he wants it known.

"I have a testimony to tell the world," Hawkins says. "I know what it's like to be homeless and not have anyone to talk to. Maybe I can help some people by telling them about it.

"Look at what can be accomplished."

Kevin Seifert • kseifert@startribune.com