Hawkins bowl: ‘Rare’ father-son coaching showdown comes to Idaho State on Saturday
First-year Idaho State football coach Cody Hawkins said he is not fixated on the matchup with his dad this weekend.
He’s more concerned about how he’ll feel scheming against his former players.
Cody Hawkins and the Bengals take on Dan Hawkins and the UC Davis Aggies at 4 p.m. Saturday at Holt Arena in Pocatello. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Cody Hawkins spent the previous six seasons as an assistant under his father at Davis, including the last three as the Aggies’ defensive coordinator.
“I have recruited those kids, met their families, sat in their homes. I went through good times and bad times with them,” Cody Hawkins said during a Wednesday news conference. “I love the heck out of those kids. I mean, I want them to be healthy. I want them to have fun. I just hope we beat their butts on Saturday.”
Saturday’s Big Sky matchup between the Bengals (3-6, 3-3) and Aggies (5-4, 3-3) will test the allegiances of football fans in this state, too.
Dan Hawkins was Boise State’s head coach from 2001 to 2005, compiling a record of 53-11 and leading the Broncos to four WAC titles. Cody Hawkins played quarterback for Bishop Kelly High School in Boise under legendary coach Tim Brennan. He went 24-0 as the Knights’ starting varsity quarterback and won back-to-back state championships in 2004 and ‘05, and he was twice named the Idaho Statesman’s 4A All-Idaho Player of the Year.
Cody Hawkins then went on to play for his dad at Colorado, where he set school records for passing yards and passing touchdowns.
But after sharing the same sideline for many years, the father and son will face off for the first time Saturday.
“It’s pretty crazy and incredible to think about just maybe how rare this is,” Cody Hawkins said. “But it’s also something that as you’re going into the game, I’m not thinking about playing against my dad. I love my dad, and he’s my best friend. He’s an amazing person and he’s given me and my family so much, but one of the things he gave me was the desire to compete.
“... It’s probably gonna be weirder seeing (UC Davis quarterback) Miles Hastings and rooting for him to throw an interception and hoping that Lan Larison gets tackled. Those are things that are gonna be harder.”
The elder Hawkins, whose coaching career began in 1983, seemed less eager to talk about the matchup with his son during a press conference Tuesday.
“It’s not about us. It’s really not,” Dan Hawkins said. “I mean, people can make it what they want. I told our guys that it’s about the two teams. It’s about our team and his team playing football. It’s not about us. I mean, we’re not playing.”
Cody Hawkins inherited an Idaho State football team that went 1-10 in 2022 and tied for last in the Big Sky standings. This season, the Bengals have conference wins over Northern Colorado, Eastern Washington and Portland State. They also have the top passing offense in the Football Championship Subdivision, averaging 338.2 passing yards per game.
But the Bengals are just 1-6 all-time against the Aggies.
“I think he has a great perspective on the game. I think he has tremendous knowledge on the game and particularly the passing game,” Dan Hawkins said of his son. “He knows just through the trials and successes, really, of him and me, kind of the way to get it going. I think it’s right time, right place.
“... I think the whole town and the school is behind football, and they’re doing whatever they can to ... get back on the winning side.”
As for the Hawkins family, Cody said he wasn’t counting on any extra support.
“I think all the kids are rooting for Poppie, which is what they call my dad,” Cody Hawkins said. “They’re rooting for grandpa just because Christmas is a bit little sweeter when grandpa’s around, so I’m up against it.”
