Special Meaning Behind Hankerson Passing Irvin's Mark
Nov. 22, 2010
By: Rob Dunning
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Former Hurricane great and Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Irvin can appreciate what Leonard Hankerson has accomplished in his football career more than most.
Perhaps more than any one.
It goes beyond the `Canes senior wide receiver breaking `The Playmaker’s’ touchdown record too.
Hankerson is having arguably the most productive season ever by a University of Miami wide out. He leads the ACC and ranks among the national leaders in receiving with two games to go. He recently moved into third place all-time for receiving yards in a single season at Miami and with his 12th touchdown grab of the season on Saturday, he passed Irvin for the most receiving touchdowns in a single season ever at Miami.
“He is such a class guy,” Irvin recently said on his radio show on WQAM. “I love it because he is following exactly those steps that I went through…St. Thomas [Aquinas High School], the University of Miami and it would be nice if Dallas would draft him. That would be a nice move too.”
Irvin takes a unique pride in Hankerson breaking his record. Growing up, Irvin was close friends with Hankerson’s father Leonard, who was shot and killed less than a month before Hankerson was born. Having that connection with his father makes what Hankerson is doing on the football field these days even more special to Irvin.
“We played together and competed together so much,” Irvin said. “He didn’t have a chance to better his father, so when he betters my mark, it is like `they were a lot alike’.
“I love it man. Leonard is a good dude. I am happy that he is breaking the record. He is a great story.”
The story is one of perseverance. After starring at St. Thomas in his prep days, Hankerson struggled with consistency his first two seasons in Coral Gables before turning the corner his junior year and emerging as the Hurricanes’ top offensive threat.
Following his breakout year in 2009, he had an opportunity to go to the NFL but opted to return, despite having to provide for two young kids – four-year-old Leonard III and two-year-old Kienarria. The decision has proven to be a wise one thus far, as Hankerson’s productivity has reached a new level this year.
“He’s a guy that has really shown me something this season,” said ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper, who has Hankerson listed as the top senior wide receiver on his NFL Draft big board.
And just as Hankerson’s career has come full circle, so has his connection with Irvin.
“It is so wild how life rolls along and the things that happen at one time in your life and the things that happen in another time in your life,” Irvin said. “Setting up things now so it would be situated later, our union was made between his father and I and it helps our relationship between [Leonard II] and I.”
That relationship is a rare bond that brings Hankerson and Irvin together, both in football and in life.
“Who would have ever thought the times I am backing down Leonard Hankerson, turning and shooting jumpers on Leonard Hankerson or he is coming down the lane dunking on me, that Leonard Hankerson II would ultimately be breaking my records at Miami,” Irvin said. “It is so fascinating.”
