He was a freshman All-American in 2009 at tackle for the University of Kansas protecting Todd Reesing's blind side.

He had three coaches in his five years at KU in Mark Mangino, Turner Gill, and Charlie Weis.

[1] Hawkinson was waived by Cincinnati as part of the final 53-man roster cuts on September 5, 2015.

On September 7, 2015, Hawkinson was signed to the San Francisco 49ers practice squad.

On April 4, 2016 Hawkinson was claimed off waivers by the Jacksonville Jaguars after having spent the 2015 season with the Philadelphia Eagles.