Howdy Dowdy

[Nacho]

There was a mention several weeks ago that Bennett liked the kid Dowdy (I think that's his name) from Denton Ryan. He plays WR at 6-5 and looks to me to be about 220. He is TE size, quick as a cat and can catch. As far as I can tell he is not even on the DMN area top 100 list. Anyone know anything about him?

[Corso]

SMU has been in contact with him, and you'd better believe the coaches would like to have him. Can you imagine the headaches defensive coordinators would have when 6'6" Darrin Johnson comes out of the TE slot, and 6'5" Jay Taylor and 6'5" William Dowdy line up wide? There isn't a team in the NFL —— much less the WAC —— with the size in the secondary to stop that alignment. Bartel might have 50 short TD passes next year if Dowdy is added to the class.

He might not be on the top 100 lists, but a big WR like that is on EVERY coach's wish list. We'll have a lot of competition for that guy.

[This message has been edited by Corso (edited 12-10-2002).]

[Nacho]

Thanks for responding Corso. I always enjoy your posts. It has puzzled me, given his size and ability that more schools apparently aren't after him. I think he would be a great pickup for SMU. I guess with so many players from Ryan getting attention he has sort of been left out.

[Corso]

That's true, there are a lot of Ryan HS kids getting a lot of attention, starting with QB James Battle and DE Jarvis Moss. But a WR with Dowdy's size can not be overlooked. Does he have bad hands or something? Is he an academic liability? On paper, this guy looks like Jonathan Ogden, LaVar Arrington, Byron Leftwich — guys whose physical measurements/attributes are beyond complaint. There's got to be a secret here that we don't know about. Because the size and speed are reminiscent of UT's Roy Williams.

[Nacho]

I don't know anything about his academics but I've seen him play. He can definitely play. I agree that there is something strange about this situation--a guy with his size and talent not even breaking the area top 100. I think he had something like 5 catches in his last playoff game. I guess we've talked him up so much now that he will end up at Miami.

[MustangFan]

Then again, Chris Phillips didn't make the area top 100 list, either, and all reports are that he's a star waiting to happen.