Duane Hawthorne (born August 26, 1976) is a former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

and

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

. He also was a member of the Scottish Claymores in

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the List of developmental and minor sports leagues, developmental minor league of the Nati ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois, United States. It was founded as "Northern Illinois State Normal School" in 1895 by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld, initially to provide the state with c ...

Early years

Hawthorne attended

Ladue Horton Watkins High School Ladue Horton Watkins High School is a public high school in Ladue, Missouri, United States, that is administered by the Ladue School District. Its namesake, Horton Watkins, was vice president of the International Shoe Company and died in 1949 ...

, where he was a two-way player. As a senior

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

, he passed for 811 yards and 6

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

s, while rushing for 748 yards and 6

s. He had 102 tackles, 5 interceptions and 7 passes defensed as a

. He received All-Suburban East Conference, All-district and All-metro honors. He also practiced track and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

, winning the conference's

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is ...

competition.

College career

Hawthorne accepted a football scholarship from

. As a freshman, he was a backup cornerback, tallying 16 tackles. He had 8 tackles, one pas defensed, one forced fumble in only eight snaps against the third ranked

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

. He was named a starter mid-way through his sophomore season, registering 40 tackles, one tackle for loss, 2 interceptions (second on the team) and 7 passes defensed. He had 2 tackles and 2 interceptions against

Arkansas State University Arkansas State University (A-State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Jonesboro, Arkansas, United States. It is the flagship campus of the Arkansas State University System and the second-largest university in the st ...

. As a junior, he posted 45 tackles, 3 interceptions and 5 passes defensed. He had 5 tackles and 2 interceptions against

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and p ...

. As a senior, he recorded 62 tackles (fifth on the team), 4 tackles for loss, 4 interceptions, 10 passes defensed, 2 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries. He finished his college career with 30 starts, 166 tackles, 9 interceptions and 22 passes defensed.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Hawthorne was signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

by the

after the

1999 NFL draft The 1999 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 17–18, 1999, at the Theater at M ...

on April 23. He surprised observers by making the team, taking advantage of opportunities created by injuries to

Kevin Smith Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. He came to prominence with the low-budget buddy comedy film ''Clerks (film), Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, co-produced, and acted i ...

and

Deion Sanders Deion Luwynn Sanders Sr. (born August 9, 1967) is an American American football, football coach with the Colorado Buffaloes football, Colorado Buffaloes. Sanders is also a former professional football and baseball player, having played in the N ...

. He collected 27 tackles, 3 interceptions (second on the team), 7 passes defensed and 7

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

tackles, while playing in nickel and dime packages. His 3 interceptions were the most by a Cowboys rookie since

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

. In 2000 season, he was allocated to the Scottish Claymores of

. He had a strong showing there, including being named

co-defensive MVP, All-NFL Europe, helped his team reach

World Bowl 2000 World Bowl 2000 (also referred to as World Bowl VIII) was the eighth championship game of the NFL Europe League. It was held at Waldstadion in Frankfurt, Germany on June 25, 2000. The match-up was between the 6–4 Scottish Claymores and the 7� ...

, while making 38 tackles, 18 passes defensed and tying for the league lead with 4

interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for ...

s. When he returned to the Cowboys, he was worn down from all of his previous

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

activity and wasn't as effective, finishing with only one tackle, 2 passes defensed, one forced fumble and 6

tackles. In

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, he was named the starter at left cornerback over

Izell Reese Izell Reese (born May 7, 1974) is a former professional American football safety in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills, and Denver Broncos. He played college football at the University of Alabama at Birming ...

in the seventh game of the season against the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

. He recorded 72 tackles (sixth on the team), 54 solo tackles (fourth on the team), 2 interceptions, 9 passes defensed and 3

tackles. In

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, he started 5 games, but hamstring and knee injuries opened the door for rookie

Derek Ross Derek Ross (born January 5, 1980) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, Atlanta Falcons and Minnesota Vikings. He played college football for the O ...

to replace him. He registered 5 starts in 10 games, 25 tackles, one interception and 4 passes defensed, before being waived on December 8,

San Francisco 49ers

On December 11,

, he was signed by the

as insurance for depth purposes. He didn't play until being forced into action during the playoff loss against the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

Personal life

Hawthorne was a football coach at University City High School and at

Hazelwood West High School Hazelwood West High School is a public high school located in Hazelwood, Missouri. It is one of three high schools in Hazelwood School District (HSD) in St. Louis County, Missouri St. Louis County is located in eastern Missouri. It is boun ...

in St. Louis, Missouri. He is now an elementary physical education teacher and is loved by all.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawthorne, Duane 1976 births Living people American football cornerbacks Dallas Cowboys players San Francisco 49ers players Scottish Claymores players Northern Illinois Huskies football players High school football coaches in Missouri Ladue Horton Watkins High School alumni Players of American football from St. Louis