Andre Dawson
Washington Senior High School (IA)
6’1″ 205 pounds
Running Back
Status: Undecided
Scouts, Inc. Grade: 78
On the Trail
Also Considering: Purdue, Cincinnati
Scouts, Inc. Evaluation
Dawson may have some of the better upside in this year’s running back class. Give this guy a year or two in a full-time college weight training program and the sky is the limit. He has a taller, leaner frame that drips of huge upside. Does have a narrow base, which is an area of concern, but he could still grow into a 220-pound slasher. Good one-cut-and-go downhill runner. Flashes very sound vision finding and bursting to daylight. Not overly fluid picking and darting through traffic, but he can make the first defender miss through the hole with subtle lateral cuts. Has quick feet. Decisive runner who finds and hits the north-south seam quickly. Makes himself small when needed to slide through the cutback creases. Bounces well outside and makes just the necessary cuts. Consistently breaks first contact at the high school level with his superior blend of size and speed. Runs with good body tilt for a taller back and knows when to lower the shoulder and power through traffic. Difficult to arm tackle when he gains north-south momentum, despite lacking a lot of lead in his pants at this time. Aggressive runner who looks to finish each run and will initiate contact. However, for his aggressive downhill running style he needs to improve his size, power and explosiveness to remain productive at the next level. He has good speed in the second level but can struggle separating versus faster defensive banks and is not real elusive due to his high-cut frame. Longer lower body is a concern; he tends to take a lot of lower-body hits and needs to run more behind his pads for improved balance and future durability. That said, Dawson’s potential as a high-carry featured back is exciting with continued physical development. Projects best in a downhill, power system, which will feed him the ball.
