Bloodlines... A part of South Georgia Football

[HawgGoneIt]

 

The football stories and other football related content is really starting to heat up in South Georgia. Here is an offering from "retired" Wayne Grandy who's name graces the home side press box at Mack Tharpe Stadium. 

http://www.moultrieobserver.com/news/ga_fl_news/the-dawson-legacy-on-the-packer-defense-carries-on-with/article_40c45ac6-74b3-11e7-8e1e-efa0250368c5.html

 

 

The Dawson legacy on the Packer defense carries on with Kaleb

• By Wayne Grandy
• 3 hrs ago
•  

 

MOULTRIE – It was a revealing exchange between two Colquitt County High football players of different eras recently during a break in a practice session on the Tom White Field at Mack Tharpe Stadium.

On the inside of the fence in the northeast corner of the end zone was Sports Hall of Fame linebacker Darius Dawson, a leader of the 1989 Packer football team’s defense that posted four straight shutouts and allowed just 100 points in 12 games.

On the outside was current Colquitt County defensive back Kaleb Dawson, who started all 13 games for the Packers last season and is expected to be a key component in the team’s secondary this season.

 

Kaleb wears jersey No. 5, the same number his dad wore when he was a four-year starter at Georgia Southern in the 1990s.

The two are extremely close, bonded by athletics, and the good-natured banter centered on how the younger Dawson stacked up athletically to his dad.

Kaleb, who had 75 tackles and an interception last season and will sign to play collegiately at Appalachian State, was seeking his father’s blessing on his ability as a player.

“You’ve got to give me my props,” the sweating Kaleb implored.

“You’re not there yet,” Darius said, not about to bestow his complete blessing.

At least not with his son within earshot.

Once Kaleb, who bears a striking facial – though not physical – resemblance to his father as a young Packer, disappeared into the field house, Darius was a little more forthcoming about his son’s ability and future.

“He can be something special,” Darius said, and proceeded to explain.

“When people ask him what he wants to be, he says he wants to be great. He says he wants to be better than his daddy. And he can do that.”

Kaleb at one point wanted to make basketball is primary sport, his father says, and while he has become a productive player for Andy Harden’s Packers, it was clear his talents are geared more to the outdoors.

Track is another passion, for its own sake and for making him better prepared for Friday nights.

Darius says his son has a passion for running.

“He likes to do what everyone else hates,” he explains.

But it was clear to his father, even when Kaleb was 5 years old, that he was destined for football.

Darius remembers his son was playing offense on his recreation team when he returned from a practice and complained that he wasn’t getting the ball enough.

“I told him to play defense and he could go get the ball anytime he wanted,” Darius said.

He has continued to nurture his son’s development.

“He was always someone to look up to,” Kaleb says of his father, who after his playing days at Colquitt County and Georgia Southern returned to Moultrie in 1997 and coached Packer linebackers for a number of years.

He also served a stint as Colquitt County’s athletic director and is preparing for his fifth year as the principal at the Achievement Center.

Kaleb has been an eager student, absorbing his father’s knowledge and adding own quiet determination and competitiveness on the road to his starting position in the Packers secondary.

Kaleb says he also has been fortunate to have been able to learn the ins and outs of playing defensive back from another former outstanding Packer, Dextra Polite.

Asked specifically what he has learned from the longtime Colquitt County secondary coach, Kaleb answered, “I don’t know where to start.”

Suffice it to say, it was plenty, especially in the area of technique and fundamentals.

After getting his feet wet with the varsity during the 2015 undefeated state championship season, Kaleb used the lessons gleaned from his father, Polite and instructors such as Danny Copeland to become a solid performer at cornerback and safety.

After winning 30 straight games, Colquitt dropped its first four contests last year, then rallied to win eight straight before falling to eventual state champion Grayson in the state quarterfinals.

Kaleb’s contributions did not go unnoticed.

Former Thomas County Central, Georgia Tech and NFL running back Joe Burns invited him to compete in the Rising Seniors events earlier this year.

He also competed in some 7-on-7 events in a Tennessee program run by a relative of another former Packer, Larry Williford.

His play as a junior and his performances in off-season showcases earned some serious looks by college recruiters.

He doesn’t deny that his first choice was his father’s alma mater, Georgia Southern.

But the Eagles were only recruiting two defensive backs this year, Darius said. Kaleb wasn’t one of them.

 

“I would like to have shown people what I could do there,” Kaleb said. “It was disappointing.”

If Darius was disturbed that his son would not be heading to Statesboro, he does not let on.

“People who watched me play are more concerned about that than I am,” he says. “It was Kaleb’s goal to be a legacy there. But that’s not the way it worked out.”

Instead, Appalachian State, which plays in the Sun Belt Conference, offered a scholarship and Kaleb accepted. He sounds as if he is looking forward to heading to Boone, N.C., next summer.

He says he has bonded with the coaching staff and “it just seemed like home up there.”

Darius sounds all in with his son’s decision to cast his lot with Appalachian State.

“They were looking for hard-nosed kids who want to play football,” Darius said, leaving unsaid that the description fits his son well.

Kaleb, his father and mother Ishia Dawson, recently named assistant principal at C.A. Gray Junior High School, will travel to Athens on Saturday, Sept. 2, to see the black-and-gold Mountaineers open their season against the University of Georgia at Sanford Stadium.

The Packers will have three games under their belts by then, including the Aug. 19 season-opener against Norcross in the Corky Kell Classic at the former Turner Field, now home to the Georgia State football team.

Kaleb said the Blue Devils have some formidable receivers, but regards facing them as a challenge, saying, “Against anybody who lines up across from us, we are going to put up a fight.”

And Kaleb will be part of a secondary that knows its way around.

He and Jarvis Christopher are the likely starters at cornerback, with Camari “Juicy” Louis and Dante Moore expected to man the safety positions. The coaching staff is also high on the potential of Kam Woods.

Kaleb is confident the secondary, coached by Polite and Steven Figueroa, will be a strength.

“I’m really confident in my guys,” he says. “We’ve got a lot of good communication.”

And with his senior season looming, Kaleb is looking forward to playing well and the team playing well, but he also wants to enjoy his final high school football season with his teammates.

“I know it’s going to go by in the wink of an eye,” he says.

[HawgGoneIt]

 

http://www.hudl.com/profile/6222550/kaleb-dawson

http://www.hudl.com/video/3/6222550/57c5a78fda50b01e0ca66acf

 

 

http://247sports.com/player/kaleb-dawson-46042325

[Nolebull813]

I didn't have to read any of that to know Colquitt was gonna whip ass all season long. 

My prediction is they go 14-1 State Champs with the lone loss being a running clock to Vista Murrietta. 

[HawgGoneIt]

14 minutes ago, Nolebull813 said:

I didn't have to read any of that to know Colquitt was gonna whip ass all season long. 

My prediction is they go 14-1 State Champs with the lone loss being a running clock to Vista Murrietta. 

 

 #CaliBall is said to be overwhelming. I think the Colquitt fans just hope the Packers can stay on the field with the Broncos. 

[Nolebull813]

5 minutes ago, HawgGoneIt said:

 

 #CaliBall is said to be overwhelming. I think the Colquitt fans just hope the Packers can stay on the field with the Broncos. 

It's a whole different ball game over there. Just hope you can do as well as Florida has since 1998. We are 15-5 vs Cali all time, including 2 wins over state champs. 

Also when there was a California vs Florida all star game with some of the best California prep players ever, we won 5 of the 7 games played as well. 

Let Rush know these tidbits and maybe you can pull the monumental upset 😂

[Rufus69]

A couple or so points here......

 

If Kaleb is as good as his father was...Lord help our opponents.  His daddy was a man amongst boys.  

The gurus at Georgia Southern made one helluva boo boo not taking Kaleb.  One HELLUVA boo boo.

Rush told me that he hopes we can score against the Broncs. Now he did add..."lots of times" to that statement.  I was just "nut shelling".

With a little luck and hard work...we just might improve from the Calpreps rating of No.141.  OK...OK...with a LOT of luck....(Smile).

 

 

Rufus>>