A . J . Hawk Aaron James Hawk ( born January 6 , 1984 ) is an American football linebacker for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He played college football for Ohio State University , where he earned All - American honors twice and was recognized as the top college linebacker . He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers fifth overall in the 2006 NFL Draft , and was a member of the Packers ' Super Bowl XLV championship team . Early years . Hawk was born in Kettering , Ohio . He attended Centerville High School , near Dayton , Ohio where he was a teammate of current Cincinnati Bengals kicker Mike Nugent on the football team . He holds multiple defensive records and is one of three active NFL players who played for the Centerville Elks high school football team . A . J . Hawk ' s records include most tackles in a game ( 31 ) on three separate occasions . He also has the most career tackles ( 583 ) . Hawk was a 2 - time All - State player in high school ( 1999 and 2000 ) . College career . Hawk enrolled in Ohio State University , and played for coach Jim Tressel ' s Ohio State Buckeyes football team from 2002 to 2005 . During his four - year Buckeye career , he played in 51 games , starting 38 of them . He had 394 tackles with 196 of them solo , 41 of them for losses , 15 and a half sacks , 7 interceptions , and 13 fumbles recovered . He also had two fumble recoveries and three forced fumbles and two touchdowns , one on a blocked punt and one on an interception . His performances earned him first team All Big Ten honors in all three years he started and the Most Valuable Player award for the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl . Following his senior season of 2005 , he won the Lombardi Award as the best college football linebacker , and was recognized as a unanimous first - team All - American . Professional career . Green Bay Packers . On April 29 , 2006 Hawk was drafted in the 1st round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers . He was the 5th overall pick of the draft . He signed a 6 - year contract with the Packers , worth $ 37 . 5 million , on July 28 , 2006 . He recorded his first NFL sack on September 24 , 2006 , when he sacked Detroit Lions Quarterback Jon Kitna in the fourth quarter . Hawk was selected the NFL Rookie Of The Week on October 23 , 2006 , in a win against the Miami Dolphins . He led Green Bay with 12 total tackles in the game and recorded one sack in the Packers ’ 34 – 24 victory . For his effort in the November 12 , 2006 , 23 – 17 victory over the Minnesota Vikings , Hawk was selected the NFL Rookie of the Week for the second time . Hawk recorded 13 total tackles and 1 . 5 sacks , and forced one fumble . Early in the third quarter , Hawk sacked the Vikings quarterback Brad Johnson for a 10 - yard loss . He later combined with teammate Nick Barnett for another 10 - yard sack . On December 10 , 2006 , Hawk recorded his first NFL interception when he picked off Alex Smith during a 30 – 19 win over the San Francisco 49ers . On December 31 , during the Packers ' final game of the 2006 season , Hawk recorded his second interception of the season during a 26 – 7 win over the Chicago Bears . In his rookie season , Hawk led the Packers ' defense with 119 total tackles , 82 of them solo . He also recorded 2 interceptions , 3 . 5 sacks , 6 passes defended and 1 forced fumble . He was third place in voting for the Associated Press Defensive Rookie of the Year . In his second season he was second on the team with 105 total tackles , 78 of them solo . He also had one interception , one sack , four passes defended and one forced fumble . During the 2007 postseason he recorded eight tackles and one sack in two games . In 2008 , after spending the first nine games as the Packers ' weakside linebacker Hawk was moved to middle linebacker after Nick Barnett tore his ACL . Hawk had 86 tackles and 3 sacks in the full 16 game season he started for Green Bay . With Dom Capers ' hiring and the preceding switch to the 3 - 4 defense , Hawk moved to inside linebacker for the 2009 season . Hawk was released by the Packers on March 2 , 2011 . On March 3 , 2011 , he signed a new five - year deal . In 2011 , Hawk was fined $ 10 , 000 by the NFL after flipping the bird during a game against the St . Louis Rams . In March 2013 , Hawk restructured his contract , reducing his 2013 salary from $ 5 . 45 million to $ 3 . 6 million . His 2014 salary was reduced by $ 2 . 5 million and his 2015 salary was reduced by nearly $ 3 million . All told , the total value of the remaining three years on Hawk ' s deal is reduced by about $ 7 million ( $ 17 . 85 million to $ 10 . 6 million ) , providing the Packers with more cap space . As of December 2013 , Hawk has either led the team or finished second in tackles in six of his seven seasons in Green Bay . Personal . Hawk is married to Laura Quinn , sister of Brady Quinn , quarterback for the St . Louis Rams . Interestingly enough , Hawk ' s final game with the Buckeyes was the 2006 Fiesta Bowl against Notre Dame , where Quinn was playing at the time . During the game Laura wore a custom made jersey which was half Ohio State and half Notre Dame , combining Brady ' s number 10 and AJ ' s Number 47 , making the number 17 . Hawk managed to sack his future brother - in - law twice during the game and become co - MVP of the bowl which ended with an Ohio State victory . Laura gave birth to the couple ' s first child , a daughter named Lennon Noel , on December 4 , 2010 . They welcomed their second child , a son named Hendrix , in January 2013 .