| No. 63 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positions | Center Long snapper | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1965-06-17)June 17, 1965 (age 60) Lexington, Kentucky, U.S. | ||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||
| Listed weight | 292 lb (132 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Lexington (KY) Bryan Station | ||||||||
| College | Kentucky | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1988: 2nd round, 44th overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Dermontti Farra Dawson (born June 17, 1965) is an American former professionalfootball player who was acenter andlong snapper in theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football with theKentucky Wildcats. He was selected by thePittsburgh Steelers in the second round of the1988 NFL draft and spent his entire pro career with the team and was elected to thePro Football Hall of Fame in 2012.
Dawson was born inLexington, Kentucky[1] where he attendedBryan Station High School.[2] He was a nationally ranked high schooltrack and field performer in thediscus andshot put.
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 thefootball team as a junior after being recruited due to his size by the school's football coach. He was an all-stateoffensive tackle in high school and eventually accepted a football scholarship to attend theUniversity of Kentucky.[3] Among his high school teammates were future NFL playersMarc Logan andCornell Burbage.[4]
Dawson playedcenter andguard at Kentucky. Helettered in each of his four years. In his freshman year in1984 the team defeatedWisconsin in theHall of Fame Bowl.[3] As a senior in 1987 Dawson was named second-teamAll-Southeastern Conference (SEC).[5]
| 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 ft2+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 fromNFL Combine[6][7] | ||||||||||||
Dawson was selected 44th overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second round of the1988 NFL draft.[8] In his rookie season he played guard alongsideHall of FamecenterMike Webster. When Webster left the team following that season, Dawson succeeded him as thestartingcenter. He soon became one of the more respected players among the Steelers, and one of the best in the league at his position. He earned the name "Dirt" for the way he would try to grind defenders into the ground.[2] In contrast, his friendly off-field demeanor led to a second nickname,Ned Flanders, after the annoyingly cheerful character fromThe Simpsons.[9]
"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."
Dawson was named to seven consecutivePro Bowls from1992 to1998 and was a six-timeAP First-teamAll-Pro. In 1993, he was named co-AFC Offensive Lineman of the Year by theNFLPA and in 1996 he was named the NFL Alumni's Offensive Lineman of the Year. He played in 170 consecutive games, the second-most in Steelers history, until severehamstring injuries forced him to sit out nine games in 1999 and seven more games in 2000. Dawson was released by the Steelers following the 2000 season partly due to these injuries and partly due tosalary cap reasons. He opted to retire rather than trying to play for another team.
"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."
He is the only player to have played in the two most lopsided games in theBrowns–Steelers rivalry, getting his first career start at center in the Steelers' 51–0 loss to theCleveland 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.
Dawson is divorced from Regina – who served as an elementary school principal at Shearer Elementary in nearbyWinchester, Kentucky – and has two children. He returned to Lexington after his retirement,[2] where he spent several years as a real estate developer. He filed forChapter 7 bankruptcy protection in 2010 listing over $69 million in liabilities against just under $1.5 million in assets.[12] He currently resides inSan Diego, California, where he is a sales executive for a promotional products company.[2]
Dawson served an internship in the Steelersscouting department in2009 and served as an intern coach with theCincinnati Bengals in2010.[13] He is also a part owner of theWashington Wild Things, anindependent league baseball team inWashington, Pennsylvania.[14]
Dawson was named the first-team center on theNational Football League 1990s All-Decade Team.[15] In 2007, he was selected for thePittsburgh Steelers All-Time Team which was named as part of the franchise's 75th season celebration.[16] The Steelers have not reissued Dawson's #63 Jersey since his retirement, though it has not been formally retired.[17] His election to thePro Football Hall of Fame in 2012 was preceded by three consecutive times of being a finalist listed for the honor.[14]
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 governorErnie 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]