Senior Bowl: Dawkins, Reddick confident Temple football in good hands

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MOBILE, Ala. – Dion Dawkins and Haason Reddick arrived at this year’s Senior Bowl without one big worry on their minds. Instead, they’re relieved. 

Both are convinced the Temple football program is in good hands. 

In 2013, during Dawkins’ freshman season and Reddick’s redshirt freshman season, the Owls weren’t very good, and that’s putting it politely. They went 2-10 and, to the outside, seemed destined to stay that way. But by the time they both completed their senior seasons in 2016, the Owls had pulled off their second straight 10-4 season. Dawkins and Reddick helped rebuild the program. 

“It’s truly a blessing seeing where Temple has come from,” Dawkins said. “Like Temple, just like what you said. I’ll basically say it. It went from s--- to something great. I’m just happy to be a part of it and just be somebody that for years to come, people know that Dion Dawkins, Haason Reddick came out of there and turned this program around.”

The program has clearly turned around, but the man leading the charge left in December, when head coach Matt Rhule accepted the head coaching position at Baylor. The Owls then hired Florida defensive coordinator Geoff Collins to fill the void. 

As Dawkins and Reddick prepare to be the fourth and fifth Owls to be drafted in the last two years, they leave North Philadelphia with the confidence that Collins is the right man to lead the program into the future. Both have met the new head coach and on Tuesday at the Senior Bowl granted their seal of approval. 

“I talked to Geoff, man,” Reddick said. “He extended himself to all the seniors. He gave us his number, followed us on social media, he interacts with us on social media, said if we ever needed anything to give him a call. He said anytime we’re around the area and we come back home, he said they have the red carpet laid out for us. I think that was the best thing I could hear coming from him and I definitely look forward to what he’s going to do this year.”

Dawkins said he believes Rhule had serious say in who his replacement would be. As such, Dawkins said he has faith in any decision Rhule makes and is convinced Collins is the right guy for the job. Dawkins thinks that ultimately players will make the difference; if the players that come after him put in the daily work, he thinks the program will be fine. 

A good head coach doesn’t hurt either. 

“Being an [alumnus], that’s just something that you want,” Reddick said. “Those younger guys, they’re like my little brothers. I just want to make sure they’re in the best hands as possible. (Athletic director) Pat Kraft went out there and found a great guy in Geoff Collins and I believe he’s going to do a tremendous job at Temple.”

While Dawkins and Reddick will be drafted this spring – barring unforeseen circumstances – they’ll just continue a trend set last year by Tavon Young, Matt Ionnidis and Tyler Matakevich, who were all selected in the 2016 draft. Dawkins and Reddick both said they’ve been leaning on their former teammates for advice during the early stages of the pre-draft process.

While Young was the first off the board among the Temple trio last year in the fourth round, there’s a good chance both Dawkins and Reddick will be long gone by that round this year. One talent evaluator said they’re much better prospects than the Temple kids from a year ago. 

And both guys are playing different positions this week. Dawkins, who is normally a tackle, is listed as a guard, and Reddick has been playing inside linebacker. 

This week, as the two prospects talk to NFL teams about their futures, they know they’re going to be asked about their pasts. One incident in particular. Both players were charged with felony aggravated assault and conspiracy charges for their part in a fight at a Philadelphia nightclub in January of 2015. In August of 2016, the two were placed in a diversionary program to avoid a trial. 

Before that, however, Dawkins and Reddick were suspended in March of 2015. The suspension lasted three months, during which their football futures appeared in doubt. It was a long three months. 

On Tuesday, Dawkins said recently he’s been thinking a lot about that time in his life as he prepares to enter the NFL. 

“Me personally, I own up to the situation itself,” he said. “As far as that, I don’t think it identifies me as a person. Everything happens for a reason and sadly to say, I’m actually glad it did happen, because it made me the person I am today.”

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