Hawk learned from his brothers

The Buckeyes' All-American linebacker busted a lot of furniture growing up.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- A.J. Hawk and his brothers used to bust up the furniture roughhousing in their Centerville home, much to their mother's chagrin.
In the friendly tangles with his father and his two older brothers, Hawk says, he learned something about toughness.
Now an All-American linebacker for No. 4 Ohio State, he is preparing for his final game as a Buckeye, Monday's Fiesta Bowl against No. 5 Notre Dame.
Family room games
The lights figure to be somewhat brighter at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz., than they were in the Hawk family rec room, where Hawk squared off repeatedly against his father, Keith Hawk, and brothers Matt, now 27, and Ryan, now 24 and trying to catch on as an Arena Football League quarterback after a college career at Ohio and Miami of Ohio.
"We bought them boxing gloves and headgear to bring some sanity to the fights," Keith Hawk said. "We don't hug, we wrestle. Judy [A.J.'s mom] still screams when A.J. gets me down on the floor and pins me. I'm on my back, he's driving me into the ground and I'm saying, 'We're just hugging."'
Watched them in high school
A.J. Hawk's desire to keep up with his brothers intensified as he watched them play for Centerville High School's demanding coaches.
"They molded me into what type of player I am and how I do things," Hawk said of the staff. "I had a brother who is six years older go through the program. I saw how hard they worked him. My brother two years older than me, I watched him. Once I got there I had an idea of what [the coaches] expected. I knew what it was like to work. I knew what you had to do if you wanted to win."
Hawk developed a ferocious work ethic, awing his Ohio State teammates with his penchant for hitting the weight room early and often. He grew into a 6-foot-1-inch, 240-pound tackling machine who drives the formidable Buckeyes defense and could be the first defensive player taken in the NFL draft in April, mentioned by some as the likely third overall pick.
"That part is surreal," Keith Hawk said. "I still think that's a little high. It's an unbelievable opportunity he's going to have, but I don't think he'll ever think the NFL will seem bigger than Ohio State."
Dates Quinn's sister
Besides his own family experience, Hawk will have an unusual perspective when he looks across the line at Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn, whose 22-year-old sister, Laura, dates Hawk.
The linebacker said he has no illusions, however, about whose side Laura Quinn will be on come Monday, noting that she's known her brother a lot longer than she's known him.