HARRISONBURG — Kyre Hawkins and his coaches wanted the same end result, but the senior linebacker didn’t know it at the time.

“We wanted him to be the leader,” second-year James Madison coach Mike Houston said. “But wanting someone to do something and them going out and doing it is two different things.”

The defense had a massive void to fill.

JMU just graduated its most seasoned linebacker and vocal leader — Gage Steele — who compiled 104 tackles and provided stability at the epicenter of an improving unit in his swan-song season in 2016-17.

A Dunbar High School (Md.) product, Hawkins, was a contributor as a junior and finished his season strong with five tackles in the FCS title game against Youngstown State.

“I always felt like I had that ability to be a leader,” Hawkins said.

And when Houston and Hawkins met over the summer to discuss the upcoming 2017 season, the two found themselves on the same page.

“I remember sitting in my office and we’re talking about him becoming more of a leader and just leading our defense and becoming that player that he can be,” Houston said. “I told him, ‘I think you can be an all-conference football player.’”

Hawkins said he took Houston’s comments seriously.

Through 10 games, Hawkins has shown his meeting with the coach was valuable.

The 6-foot, 217-pounder is giving JMU the steadiness it needs at the middle of the nation’s top scoring and total defense.

Hawkins has racked up 67 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, eight pass breakups and seven sacks.

“It’s good to have your head coach’s confidence behind you and have him encouraging you,” Hawkins said. “So that gave me some positive reaction toward everything.

“It definitely pushed me to be able to try to be that leader that they were looking for.”

Defensive coordinator Bob Trott said Hawkins has been the unit’s most consistent player this season.

The two-time Colonial Athletic Association Defensive Player of the Week this year also made two plays this past Saturday to help JMU stop rival Richmond when it mattered most.

Hawkins thwarted Richmond’s fake field goal by tackling holder Joe Mancuso when he took off with the ball. Hawkins also brought quarterback Kyle Lauletta to the ground on a third down, which forced the Spiders to kick a field goal and inevitably get the ball back to the Dukes’ offense with a chance to win the game, which the unit made good on.

“Part of that is the position he’s in to make calls and get adjustments,” Trott said. “But he does a great job of being the quarterback on the front end and we set a premium on communication, and we constantly say we’re pretty good when we all play the same defense.”

Hawkins is able to keep the entire defense together from play to play because he knows most of his teammates’ responsibilities.

He can play all three linebacker spots within the Dukes defense and has learned the defensive line’s objective as well as the defensive backs’ jobs.

Houston said Hawkins executes the most important line of communication for the Dukes — relaying calls between the linebackers and standout safeties Jordan Brown and Raven Greene.

“When I got to college, I really didn’t know that much about the whole aspect of defense,” Hawkins said. “I was just a kid from Baltimore. I was just a ball player. I went out there and it was see ball, get ball.

“But as I got older and as I started to learn, the coaches taught me the defense from the outside in. So before I learned my position, I learned how the offense operates and how the guys around me fit, so that if I ever got lost in my own piece I could put myself together by figuring where everyone else is on the field.”

Houston said his belief in Hawkins started way back when he was first hired at JMU.

“The first spring I was here and it was a Saturday morning practice right around that area right there,” Houston said standing in the end zone at Bridgeforth Stadium while pointing about halfway between the home sideline and logo at midfield.

“We’re scrimmaging, offense versus defense,” Houston said. “I’m watching him and I’m sitting there saying to myself, ‘He is so instinctive. The way he moves, the way he tackles, he could just be such a great player.’ And he had a good junior year, but not the kind of year that he’s capable of.

“To see all that stuff come together his senior year, it’s been a special thing for me to watch as a coach. I respect very much the way he’s conducted himself and carried himself about making that transformation.”