Move To Safety A Smart One -- Hawkins Makes Strong Grades For Cougars In First Start Against Cal

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COUGAR FOOTBALL

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Today: California (1-1) at Washington State

(1-2), Martin Stadium, Pullman, 2 p.m.

- TV/radio: No live TV; KIRO radio (710 AM).

Delayed TV, Prime Sports Northwest, 5 p.m.,

tomorrow.

- Line: WSU by 5 1/2.

- Next: UCLA at WSU next Saturday.

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PULLMAN - Until today, Ron Hawkins' main contributions to the Washington State football program have been on special teams and boosting the squad's grade-point average.

Today, Hawkins, a fourth-year junior from Gonzaga Prep in Spokane, gets his first start. He will be at strong safety as the Cougars (1-2) get a 2 p.m. Dad's Day visit from California (1-1).

Hawkins is starting because Alvin Dunn suffered a knee injury in the final quarter of last Saturday's 50-36 loss at Brigham Young.

``I'm trying not to think about (the start) a lot because I'm nervous,'' Hawkins said. ``I'm just trying to practice and get my assignments down. . . . It might overwhelm me.''

Hawkins has handled previous stomach-churning moments well. He was the quarterback when Gonzaga beat Juanita 14-7 in 1986 to win the Class AAA title in the Kingbowl.

``Hawk,'' as he is called by teammates, was recruited as a quarterback. He was a redshirt his first season and then was moved to strong safety and running back.

Hawkins compensates for a lack of stopwatch speed with football smarts, coaches say.

``He's quick and he understands offenses and schemes,'' said Mike Zimmer, Cougar defensive coordinator.

Hawkins has a 3.92 GPA in accounting and finance. His roommate, defensive end Russ Miller, is the team's other top scholar, with a 3.67 GPA in English. They each have won the team's Silver Helmet Award for top grades once and shared it last spring.

Hawkins and cornerback Anthony Prior, who replaces injured Michael Wright, will be tested today by Cal quarterback Mike Pawlowski and his favorite target, Brian Treggs, who caught 12 passes in last week's 54-22 loss to Miami.

Hawkins is the second member of his family to play Pac-10 football. His older brother David was in the Washington Husky program for three years before becoming an academic casualty. David was one of six Gonzaga classmates, a state record, to accept football scholarships to Division I schools.

This is the league opener for WSU and Cal and is expected to be played under clear skies with temperatures in the 70s. The Cougars will line up in Martin Stadium as 5 1/2-point favorites against the Bears, who have won only two of their past 18 conference road games.

The Cougars will try to snap a two-game losing streak before a crowd of more than 30,000, including the fathers of 50 players.

Father No. 50 is Coach Mike Price, whose son, Aaron, is a kicker-punter from Weber State who is sitting out this season under NCAA transfer rules.

Price is optimistic.

``We're doing too many things the right way not to win sooner or later,'' the coach said. ``Our players are working hard. Our coaches are working hard. We're doing things the right way. We're staying positive with the kids. It's just a matter of time.''

One good sign: The team held a players-only meeting Thursday. Two such meetings preceded last Saturday's surprising performance at BYU.

In search of a victory, the Cougars changed some routines for today's game. Instead of spending the night in a Moscow, Idaho, motel, the Cougars went 37 miles down the road to Lewiston, Idaho.

WSU and Cal are 2-2-1 in their past five encounters, and Cal Coach Bruce Snyder expects a knee-knocker.

``It probably will be a fourth-quarter deal,'' Snyder said.

NOTES

- Slotback C.J. Davis, out for two games with a shoulder injury, had a cortisone shot this week and should play in a backup role today.

- Reserve running back Takim Brown remains ineligible as the Cougars await his summer grades from a Los Angeles community college.

- When Cal played Miami last week, it marked the fourth time and fourth site at which Bruce Snyder's Bear staff had played Dennis Erickson's staff. ``We played them in Tokyo (a 17-17 Cal-WSU tie in 1987), in Pullman, in Miami and in Berkeley,'' Snyder said.

- Snyder, in his fourth year at Cal since replacing Joe Kapp, said this is his best team.