Aztecs’ Daniel Bellinger, Tayler Hawkins are two of a kind

When Mountain West media days are held before the football season begins, a pair of players from each team come into a meeting room and sit next to each other at an interview table.

San Diego State senior cornerback Tayler Hawkins and senior tight end Daniel Bellinger were SDSU’s representatives this year.

They seemed at ease paired together. Perhaps because the players came into the world accompanied by another person.

Hawkins has a twin brother, Tyler.

Bellinger has a twin sister, Betsy.

As Hawkins and Bellinger prepare for No. 24 SDSU (11-2) to play UTSA (12-1) in Tuesday’s Frisco Bowl (4:30 p.m. PT, ESPN), they do so with a perspective unlike virtually any of their teammates.

They are comforted in the thought that no matter what ups and downs life brings, it has always been with someone in their corner who has been there every step of the way.

Tyler (left) and Tayler Hawkins earned college scholarships while starring at Palm Springs High.

(Courtesy Tyler Hawkins)

Tayler and Tyler

Having each other there was essential for Tayler and Tyler Hawkins as they navigated through a difficult childhood.

Their mother died from congestive heart failure when they were 18 months old and their father left the boys with their grandmother, who raised them with assistance from an aunt.

They were born in Palm Springs in 1997, two days after Christmas.

Tyler entered the world moments before Tayler.

“Three minutes,” Tayler said, “But he’s got 30 pounds on me. He’s got three inches on me.”

So, though Tayler now is a muscular 6-foot-1, 205 pounds, Tyler always filled the role as the “big” brother.

Tyler was the one people remembered, too.

“Nobody knew my name,” Tayler said. “We were both just Tyler, so I had to make a name for myself.”

He has done that at SDSU, especially this season while among the team’s leading defenders with 57 tackles, two interceptions and 10 pass breakups.

Tyler, who played defensive end and linebacker at Sacramento State, has been impressed with Tayler’s growth as a player but even more as a person.

“I’ve seen my brother mature a lot,” Tyler said. “This isn’t a knock on him, it’s the truth, that Tayler has been very naive.

“You could tell Tayler something and he would believe it. Somebody could say, ‘I just won $1 million,’ and Tayler’s going to believe it. I would be more like, ‘Let’s get real.’

“So I’ve seen him mature. And I think that’s translated to his game, where he’s become a smarter player.”

When they played together at Palm Springs High, the pair pushed each other to improve.

“With me being bigger, it made him take things more seriously in the weight room,” Tyler said. “But with him being smaller, he was quicker than me and a lot more athletic, so that made me work harder with my footwork, coordination and things like that.”

Tyler completed an undergraduate degree at Sacramento State and is now pursuing an MBA through Grand Canyon University.

He believes the focus on academics was something Tayler noticed.

“I think that’s made him buckle down and take things more serious,” said Tyler, who has encouraged Tayler while he completes his degree in sociology. “I think he looks up to me in the standards I’ve been able to hold myself in the classroom. It’s pushed him that much harder.”

Tyler also was struck this season to see how Tayler carries himself in social settings.

“I see him in interviews now and I’m proud of him,” Tyler said. “He’s come such a long way with how he articulates himself. I’m like, ‘Damn, he didn’t have that before.’ ”

Like many of the SDSU players whose college careers are coming to a close, Tayler has an eye on playing professionally.

He appreciates that Tyler has been there through childhood and through college and will continue to be his biggest supporter in the future.

“We shared a room for 18 years,” Tayler said. “It was like we were in pre-college. It was like sharing a dorm room.

“He always called me and told me to stay in it and just trust the process, almost every day calling and texting me.

“We had to overcome a lot, and it makes it so much better and worthwhile when you have somebody else there going through it with you.”

Betsy Bellinger is said to be even more sure-handed catching the football than twin brother Daniel.

(Courtesy Betsy Bellinger)

Daniel and Betsy

That caring side that brothers have for sisters is sometimes subtle, especially in comparison to that cajoling side.

Betsy Bellinger recalls playing with Daniel and their older half-brother Jacob Mautner.

“We used to go every weekend to the park and they would tackle me,” Betsy said. “I’d get hurt and cry a little bit and Daniel would be like, ‘C’mon, toughen up.’

“You fall down and get right back up. It made me stronger.”

It also made her better. In fact, Betsy was the best player on the field at Las Vegas’ Palo Verde High.

The school had a girls flag football team that reached the region finals four straight years with Betsy starring at receiver and safety, averaging about 20 touchdowns on offense and 20 interceptions on defense each year over her career.

Daniel and Betsy were born Sept. 22, 2000, in Las Vegas.

“I’m four minutes older,” Daniel said. “And I will always hold that over her.

“We’ve competed our whole lives. Even when it came to dinner, seeing who would finish the fastest, or racing to the car to get the front seat.”

Competition aside, Betsy developed an appreciation for her brother.

“I love how humble he is,” she said.

Though as Daniel grew into his 6-foot-6 frame, literally becoming the big man on campus, sis would shake her head.

“All my friends are like, ‘I want to date him,’ ” Betsy said. “It could be annoying at times.”

Said Daniel: “It was fun having her there and it kind of gave me that edge wanting to compete to be better than her.

“I’d feel bad because most of the time I would beat her and she would get her feelings hurt. But she would always come back and keep fighting. I’m grateful for her.”

Frank Bellinger, the twins’ father, said Betsy has better hands than her brother.

That’s saying something, considering Daniel is among SDSU’s leaders with 29 receptions for 344 yards and two touchdowns.

“Playing against Big Daniel didn’t compare with the girls you played against in actual games,” Betsy said. “It definitely put me at an advantage when I did play.”

Like Daniel, she also was a high school track standout. Both competed on teams that were among the best in the state in the relay events.

While Daniel could get the best of Betsy in the sprints, the distance events were an equalizer.

They still compete on the tennis court or at the bowling alley.

“She definitely beats me in bowling,” Daniel said. “I don’t know how she does, but she does.”

Betsy limited herself athletically to intramurals the past four years at Nevada. In May, she completes a degree in speech pathology. She is currently applying to graduate schools and will begin work on a master’s degree.

Her own studies at Nevada have prevented Betsy from seeing Daniel play in person as much as she would like, although she was able to watch him against the Wolf Pack at Dignity Health Sports Park.

She attended the game with some friends, and they were sitting nearby when Daniel scored on a 2-yard pass for the game’s first touchdown.

“It was definitely one of my top-10 moments watching him,” Betsy said. “It’s great seeing your twin down there on the field.”

School will prevent Betsy from coming to Toyota Stadium to watch Daniel in the Frisco Bowl, but she is planning to see him play in Alabama on Feb. 5 in the Senior Bowl.

It will be a good opportunity for Daniel to showcase himself for NFL scouts. Though he hasn’t yet declared his intentions, Bellinger will be among SDSU’s top prospects for the 2022 NFL Draft.

Betsy has to believe she had a hand in Daniel’s success.

“I somehow hope that me throwing the ball to him for hours outside helped get him to where he is,” said Betsy, adding, “I just want him to always know that I’m his twin sister, I’m always going to be his family and he always has me, no matter who comes in his life.”