FOXBORO — Patriots safety Jaylinn Hawkins was a bright spot in his first start last week, and he could be in line for another start this week against the Texans.

Hawkins, filling in for Kyle Dugger and Jabrill Peppers, drew praise from head coach Jerod Mayo after registering eight tackles with a tackle for loss while going untargeted on 79 defensive snaps.

Hawkins signed a one-year contract with the Patriots this offseason after spending time with the Vikings and Chargers. The 27-year-old safety was selected in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft out of Cal and came to the Patriots with extensive experience on defense and special teams.

Get to know him better on and off the field.

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BH: What would you be doing if you weren’t a football player?

JH: I’d be an entrepreneur. I’d be in different business ventures. At first, when I was younger I always wanted to do sports management, but real estate, venture capitalist, help people out. Just want to be a mogul honestly.

BH: Who was your favorite athlete growing up?

JH: Reggie Bush.

BH: Favorite movie?

JH: For comedy, I’d go “Friday.” For serious drama movie, I would say, I like the Harry Potter series.

BH: Favorite musical artist?

JH: That’s too hard to answer. I listen to too many people. Obviously like Drake. I like all type of people. It’s kind of hard for me to answer that one.

BH: Who have you been closest with on the team so far?

JH: I’ve known some people before on the team, but I’m cool with everybody. I grew up with Alex Austin. He played with my little brother. We’re close. And everybody else, we jell.

BH: What’s your favorite thing about the New England region?

JH: The food. I love the food. I love the lobster rolls, the clam chowder.

BH: Who’s a player around the league who’s underrated or underappreciated?

JH: (Vikings safety) Camryn Bynum.

BH: Do you have a hidden talent?

JH: I make beats, and I can dance.

BH: What was your first football memory?

JH: I remember when I was a little kid, I was with my dad. I was about like 4, and on Saturday mornings, I used to watch college football all the time. I used to just be like, fascinated. Like I need to play. I need to go out there and ball. As a kid, I’m like, ‘Damn, this is dope.’ I think during the time, it was the Reggie Bush era. I’m from SoCal, so we were big Trojans fans, so it was dope seeing that. From that point on, I was just like, ‘Dad, can I play? Can I play? Can I play?’ Then when I was 5, he let me play. That’s one of my early memories.

BH: Top high school football memory?

JH: I loved my high school team (Buena Park High School). First of all, I want to say RIP Coach (Anthony) White, one of the best coaches I’ve had. He passed away last year. Good dude, man. I would say my best is when I remember I was playing my buddy Quinten Pounds. He went to Washington. We were playing Cypress (High School) in a playoff game. He was a top recruit in the area. I was a top recruit in the area. We were just going back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And we won the game, but it was just such an epic game. The crowd was going crazy. It was dope.

BH: Top college football memory?

JH: When we (Cal) beat Stanford. When we got the axe back my senior year. That was super lit. I had a good game, had a one-handed pick, was on SportsCenter Top 10. Everybody was balling on defense and offense. I remember coming home after the night, we were going to parties, celebrating. That was lit. I had a couple lit memories like when we beat Ole Miss my sophomore year, people rushed the field. But Stanford was the best one, though.

BH: What made Cal so special?

JH: I would say the people there. Obviously, the environment was dope, but the people there made it special. Coach (Justin) Wilcox, my teammates I’m still close with to this day that are still playing currently, Camryn Bynum, (Bears safety) Elijah Hicks, (Jets safety) Ashtyn Davis, (Commanders cornerback) Josh Drayden, Tray Beck, (Colts safety) Daniel Scott. What made it special was just the chemistry and bonding and culture we had, and the coach that we had, Gerald Alexander was like in my opinion one of the best to do it, coaches on the Raiders now. Every day was fun. We learned, played off each other, fed off each other. It was dope.