Dermontti Dawson
No. 63 | |||||
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Position: | Center Long snapper | ||||
Personal information | |||||
Born: | Lexington, Kentucky, U.S. | June 17, 1965||||
Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||
Weight: | 292 lb (132 kg) | ||||
Career information | |||||
High school: | Lexington (KY) Bryan Station | ||||
College: | Kentucky | ||||
NFL draft: | 1988 / Round: 2 / Pick: 44 | ||||
Career history | |||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||
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Career NFL statistics | |||||
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Player stats at NFL.com | |||||
Dermontti Farra Dawson (born June 17, 1965) is an American former professional football player who was a center and long snapper in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football with the Kentucky Wildcats. He was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second round of the 1988 NFL draft and spent his entire pro career with the team and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2012.
Early life
Dawson was born in
After having a bad experience playing ninth grade football, Dawson chose not to go out for his high school team his sophomore year. He joined the
College football
Dawson played
Professional career
Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle |
Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 ft 2+1⁄4 in (1.89 m) |
272 lb (123 kg) |
32+7⁄8 in (0.84 m) |
9+7⁄8 in (0.25 m) |
4.94 s | 1.77 s | 2.95 s | 4.34 s | 30.0 in (0.76 m) |
9 ft 1 in (2.77 m) |
24 reps | ||
All values from NFL Combine[6][7] |
Dawson was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second round of the
"To me he was the best athlete to ever play that position. He was very powerful and explosive, just a rare combination of quickness, explosion, and he was a very dependable player. This guy hardly ever missed a game. He redefined the position."
— former Steelers head coach Bill Cowher[10]
Dawson was named to seven consecutive
"He was one of the best players that we have ever played against at that position. He had exceptional quickness; I think that really the measure of a center is his ability to play against powerful guys that are lined up over him and try to bull-rush the pocket and collapse it in the middle so that the quarterback can't step up. Dawson had great leverage and quickness with his hands and his feet where he did a great job of keeping that pocket clean for [Neil] O'Donnell and those guys who played behind him."
— New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick in 2008. Belichick coached the Browns in the early 1990s.[11]
He is the only player to have played in the two most lopsided games in the Browns–Steelers rivalry, getting his first career start at center in the Steelers' 51–0 loss to the Cleveland Browns at home (still the worst loss for the Steelers in franchise history), but was victorious in the Steelers 43–0 win against the Browns in Cleveland ten years later, in the Browns' first game in four years.
Personal life
Dawson is divorced from Regina – who served as an elementary school principal at Shearer Elementary in nearby
Dawson served an internship in the Steelers
Legacy
Dawson was named the first-team center on the
In 2001 Dawson and his wife established the Dermontti F. and Regina M. Dawson Endowed Graduate Fellowship in Education scholarship at his alma mater, the University of Kentucky (UK). Dawson was appointed to the school's board of trustees by Kentucky governor Ernie Fletcher in 2005. He is a member of UK's College of Education's "Alumni Hall of Fame" and the UK Hall of Distinguished Alumni as well as a charter member of the UK Athletics Hall of Fame.[18] In addition, his jersey has been retired by the school.[19]
References
- ^ "Hall of Fame bio". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on June 6, 2012. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
- ^ a b c d "Lexington's Dawson thrilled to be elected to Pro Football Hall of Fame". Lexington Herald-Leader. February 4, 2012. Archived from the original on February 7, 2012. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
- ^ University of Kentucky athletics. August 24, 2001. Archived from the originalon February 5, 2013. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
- ^ Harris, John (February 21, 2012). "Dawson's coach also gets Hall call". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Archived from the original on February 25, 2012. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
- Park City Daily News. AP. p. 3-B. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
- ^ "Dermontti Dawson, Combine Results, C - Kentucky". nflcombineresults.com. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
- ^ "Dermontti Dawson RAS". ras.football. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
- ^ "1988 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
- Sporting News. Archived from the originalon January 28, 2005.
- ^ Bouchette, Ed (January 31, 2010). "Steelers: Saturday is judgment day for Dermontti Dawson". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on February 7, 2012. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
- ^ Bouchette, Ed (November 27, 2008). "Steelers Notebook: Belichick boosts Dawson's Hall of Fame candidacy". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
- ^ Hewlett, Jennifer (July 2, 2010). "Dermontti Dawson files for bankruptcy". Lexington Herald-Leader. Archived from the original on November 15, 2010. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
- ^ Maloney, Mark (August 3, 2010). "Ex-Cat Dawson an intern coach with Bengals". Lexington Herald-Leader. Archived from the original on October 12, 2010. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
- ^ Observer-Reporter. AP. February 5, 2012. Archived from the originalon February 17, 2012. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
- ^ "Offense". NFL's All-Decade Team of the 1990s. Pro Football Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on January 30, 2012. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
- ^ Dvorchak, Robert (October 25, 2007). "Steelers name 33 players who stand above rest to its All-Time Team". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on February 27, 2009. Retrieved March 19, 2010.
- ^ Bouchette, Ed (June 5, 2011). "On the Steelers: Museum being considered at Heinz Field". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on June 10, 2011. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
- ^ "Governor appoints education alums to UK trustee" (PDF). Network (alumni magazine). University of Kentucky College of Education. Spring 2006. pp. 3–4. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 10, 2008. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
- University of Kentucky athletics. Archived from the original(PDF) on February 16, 2006. Retrieved February 17, 2012.