08/01 — Eric Mangini brought news at today's midday news conference of the retirement of a player he'd known and worked with since 2005.

"I spent a lot of time talking with Artrell Hawkins yesterday," Mangini said of the 10th-year safety the Jets signed in February. "He just felt it was time for him to move on with the next phase of his life."

Mangini recalled his initial thoughts of Hawkins when he arrived as a free agent with the Patriots in November of 2005.

"I was doing stuff late on a Tuesday night, I think it was 10 o'clock," he said. "Artrell was there. He'd been there a long time. He was studying. If you don't know a guy, you don't know whether it's legit or not, but it was the same pattern he had always followed. He was just a really pleasant surprise. When you get someone off the wire, you just don't know what you're getting.

"He was impressive there, he was impressive making the transition from cornerback to safety. So that relationship is longstanding and I have a ton of respect for him. I really wish him well in the next phase of his life."

Mangini said Hawkins has "that deep Barry White voice" and that the former University of Cincinnati Bearcat and Cincinnati Bengal could be headed for the broadcasting booth.

"I think he'll be good at it," the coach said. "He's knowledgeable, he's very determined, so I'm sure whatever he chooses, it'll be good for him."

Mangini also announced the signing of former Penn State RB Rodney Kinlaw, who reported tried out with the Lions in May. We'll have the Hawkins and Kinlaw transactions as well as the re-signing of Nate Lyles and the waiving of Jerry Mackey up on our home page shortly.

Later in the news conference, Mangini shifted gears to Orville Reddenbacher when he was asked to talk a little more about WR David Clowney, who has made several nice downfield receptions in the first eight days of camp.

"With guys that you don't have as much background on or as much history with, those guys have got to pop," the coach said. "What I mean by that is, if you're watching the tape [of a practice], they can't give you the chance to go through the whole tape without noticing them — they've got to pop off the screen.

"One day he pops off the screen, then the next day he makes a couple of other plays, and suddenly it gets into the conversation. The more you pop, the more that we're giving you opportunities to pop. Clowney's popped. He popped at OTAs, he's popped in training camp.

"Now it's got to be more consistent. If you hit one, then suddenly you disappear for a few weeks, well, it was nice while it lasted."

Mangini added that he knows exactly why Clowney has emerged this camp. It's because "he studied like crazy" in the off-season, taking full advantage of the playbook and all the Jets' video options.

"Combining the physical tools he has with really understanding the system," the coach said, "now he has a chance to just go play and react. It's not thinking about everything, which can make you as slow as anything else."

Today's practice at Hofstra's Shuart Stadium, closed to the public, is set to be something of a walkthrough/runthrough of Saturday's Green & White Practice. Players will be available after today's session, and we'll bring you a postpractice blog and other features as soon as we can.