Jordan Dotson attended Temple head coach Rod Carey’s football camp on June 12 hoping the team would offer him a scholarship.
The 6-foot-4-inch, 205 pound outside linebacker was granted his wish.
“He offered me in front of my parents and it felt great because it was my only FBS offer besides Army,” Dotson said in an interview with OwlScoop.com. “I think it will really open things up for me.”
Besides Temple and Army, Dotson, who attends New Jersey’s Burlington Township High School, has offers from 15 other programs, including Dartmouth, Harvard and Villanova.
Dotson wants to make his decision this summer before the start of his senior season and will focus on teams he feels will support his future goals the best.
“Definitely having a good relationship with the coaches, the atmosphere, the energy of not only my teammates but everyone on campus just the whole vibe of it,” Dotson said. “I want to surround myself with the right people, the people who want to achieve the same things I want to achieve, help me better myself.”
Dotson described his relationship with Carey, defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Jeff Knowles and offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Mike Uremovich as “really solid.”
“They are really good, and I know they can really coach me up and help me reach my potential,” Dotson said of Temple’s coaching staff. “They are great guys.”
Temple’s campus was different then what Dotson was expecting, but he liked the campus regardless.
“It is not what most people think it is,” Dotson added. “I know it wasn’t what I thought it was. Within the campus, I just really like the atmosphere of it.”
Temple is recruiting Dotson to play linebacker even though he has experience playing both wide receiver and tight end in high school.
Dotson feels like his versatility can be an asset since he’s played both sides of the ball for most of his life.
“I just like to work out as many positions as possible, and do drills at offense and defense,” Dotson said. “It is really exciting, especially on offense. I love catching the ball and running for touchdowns on offense. On defense, I like throwing people around and stuff.”
As a pass rusher, Dotson showed he could beat opposing offensive lineman with pure speed and bend around the outside arc and also displayed a potent inside counter move to help him get to the quarterback.
In six games last season, Dotson recorded 15 receptions, 400 all purpose yards and two touchdowns on offense while racking up 60 tackles, five tackles for loss and two interceptions on defense.
For his senior season, Dotson wants to help his team win a NJSIAA state championship and average 10 tackles per game, which has been his goal every season since he started playing varsity football.
