49ers safety Hawkins’ remarkable start was fueled by a dark place and a sibling relationship.
A blind spot and a bond of brotherhood lead to 49ers safety Hawkins’ inspiring debutGrowing up without parents, twin brothers Tayler and Tyler Hawkins relied on each other to survive.Just before 49ers safety Tayler Hawkins made his NFL26 debut. -year-old watched from the sidelines and saw his twin brother Tyler in the stands at Levi’s Stadium.Tayler nodded at him, which was more than just a greeting to Tyler. It was telepathic: Tyler said something to him, Tyler said. He was arrested.After enduring the hardships of growing up without parents, relying on each other for survival, and finding strength in their brotherly bond, Tyler was sure his brother would do something special.In the 49ers’ 21-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, Tayler Hawkins was picked off the practice squad, made his NFL debut and ended up intercepting Rams quarterback Carson Wentz.Hawkins immediately reacted to a dropped pass in the second quarter, flying through the air and coming down with his end to secure the turnover.”Just a regular cover 3, the plays we run every day,” Hawkins said. “I was in. We have something called filog and subversion. We have to get them. That was it, a suggestion. I had to bring it.”Hawkins only found out last Thursday that he would be playing in the 49ers’ final game of the regular season. He broke the news to his brother.
Tyler said he would give up anything to be there.On game day, Tyler left his one-bedroom apartment in Irvine at 5 a.m. to arrive in Santa Clara well before kickoff.”After the game, Tayler asked, ‘Did you see me looking at you?'” Tyler said. “He texted me and said, ‘I really appreciate you stepping up. It meant everything to me.’The twins’ journey together was difficult.When they were 18 months old, their mother, Robin Roy, died of heart failure. He was only 30 years old.Without the father in the picture, the boys left grandmother Wessie Roy, who raised 12 children.”Me and my brother would be nothing without her,” Tyler said, also thanking his aunt, LaWanda Roy. “She was never a rich woman. We were literally poor. We were broken. We had nothing. But my grandmother always found a way. I never felt poor. I didn’t know I was poor until I grew up.”The Hawkins brothers supported each other to survive, always trying to get out of their hometown of Palm Springs and make a name for themselves.”My brother and I had to grow up fast,” Tyler said. “We matured at a very young age.”They tried to push each other, always lifting each other up in athletics and playing on the same football team since high school. Finding an internship wasn’t easy, but cousins, aunts and uncles stepped up. If they didn’t get along, coaches or other family friends came.”It took a village,” Tyler said. “Football saved our lives.”They were the best in high school. Both brothers received a handful of Division I scholarship offers. Tyler went to Sacramento State, and Tayler chose San Diego State, where he and the brothers’ best friend, Trenton Thompson, now a Pittsburgh Steeler, went to play safety together.After successful college careers, Tayler and Thompson went undrafted in the 2022 NFL Draft, but continued to find their way onto NFL practice squads and Tayler landed with the 49ers.In August of this year, Tayler began to blossom in the training group of the year.”Now we’re in fall camp and he’s kicking,” Tyler said. “They’re starting to notice. It was right around the time they decided on the 53-man roster.After the 49ers’ first preseason game, a 34-7 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, 49ers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks said. reporters that Hawkins was “one of my favorites at safety” and “showed a lot of promise.Out of nowhere, he went to Irvine to crash on his brother’s couch.”I was in a dark place,” Tayler said.Tyler remembers seeing his brother committed to the rehabilitation process, but he began to seem lost.”You sure can get to a dark place fast,” Tyler said. “I see how many of these NFL athletes are prescribed these drugs and then they mix it up with not being on a pedestal anymore. They are angry with themselves. You can see it start to twist. I saw my brother start to understand.to call. The Niners picked him up.”San Francisco signed him to the practice squad in October. Two and a half months later, he made his game debut thanks in part to injuries to the three safeties ahead of him on the depth chart: Talanoa Hufanga, Ji’Ayir Brown and Tashaun Gipson Sr.In the audience, Tyler started to cry.”I can’t hold back the tears,” she said. “My family is texting me crying. I’m crying. There were a lot of emotions.”Tayler finished the game with an interception, one pass breakup and four tackles. He was also called for pass interference on a key play in the fourth quarter. Overall, he said he played “well.”.
But the kidnapping “meant everything to me.””This may have been my only chance,” he said. “I don’t know if I’ll get another one. I had to take advantage of it.”He added, “I’m from a small town. A lot of guys don’t make it. The fact that I did is definitely an incentive for the home country. Whoever else hears my story, I’m sure it will inspire them.”Tuesday morning, Tyler got a text from his brother that broke his heart again: Tayler hurt his wrist in Sunday’s game. He’s going to need surgery and is out. for the rest of the season.Tyler tried to find a silver lining.”I didn’t expect much from this playoff,” Tyler said. “It gives him an offseason to heal. No tears, just some bonding.”Whatever happens to Tayler, his brother is by his side.”I know my brother is an NFL superstar,” Tyler said. “This won’t be the last, who will you hear about it. . him It has been confirmed.”.
