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Jan. 6—PULLMAN — Coach Kirby Moore is reaching to the Power 4 ranks to reconstruct Washington State's roster.
The Cougars have landed a commitment from Florida transfer wide receiver Tank Hawkins, according to a Tuesday report from On3 Sports, giving his new team its fifth offseason addition under Moore's watch.
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In two years with the Gators, Hawkins played in eight games, totaling 12 catches for 116 yards and one touchdown. He played in six in 2024, then after playing in four games last season, he chose to opt out of the rest of the year — preserving his redshirt season and giving him three more years of eligibility.
Hawkins did so in November, after coach Billy Napier was fired from UF.
"Tank came up, very professional, he came out and asked if he could preserve his redshirt," Florida interim coach Billy Gonzales said, according to Gainesville.com. "Absolutely. I said, I 100% honor it."
A consensus four-star recruit out of IMG Academy in the class of 2024, Hawkins fielded offers from Alabama, Penn State, Oregon, Miami, Nebraska, Wisconsin and others. He has blazing speed, running a reported 4.25-yard 40-yard dash at an Ohio State camp.
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"Can not only run past corners and safeties on deep vertical routes," 247 Sports analyst Andrew Ivins wrote in 2023, "but also scoot away from would-be tacklers in the open field as he has the ability to turn quick screens and short slants into big gains with his wiggle, vision and burst. Tracks the football well for a youngster, but a smaller catch radius isn't exactly ideal."
Listed at 5-foot-10 and 178 pounds, Hawkins projects to compete for snaps right away in WSU's wideout corps, which is under construction. The Cougars are losing veteran Josh Meredith, who is out of eligibility, but they recently re-signed speedy receiver Tony Freeman, who is also the team's best punt returner. Hawkins fills a position of need for the Cougars, who don't return much experience at the wide receiver spot.
As a true freshman in 2024, Hawkins caught 10 passes for 100 yards and one touchdown, a 36-yard strike against FCS Samford. That season, Hawkins went on to reel in seven receptions for 60 yards against UCF.
In 2025, Hawkins caught one ball for 14 yards against Long Island, then caught one reception for two yards against USF. After playing most of the rest of his snaps on special teams, he chose to opt-out of the remainder of the season in November.
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Some of Hawkins' best attributes involve his sheer speed. Originally from West Virginia, Hawkins won the 100 and 200-meter West Virginia state championship as a sophomore, which followed a second-place finish as a freshman. In 2023, he ran a 10.37-second 100-meter dash, an elite mark.
For his senior season, Hawkins transferred to IMG Academy in Florida, where he also ran track. That's when he ran his 10.37 time, following that with a 10.77 mark at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals.
It's the fifth offseason addition for WSU, including the first on offense. In recent days, the Cougs replenished their secondary with commitments from San Jose State cornerback Jaylen Thomas, Oregon State cornerback Jalil Tucker, Cal Poly safety Jeremiah Bernard, plus Kent State linebacker Nylan Brown.
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