Since he committed I thought this deserved a thread of it's own.

 

UK football lands commitment from Belfry lineman Austin Dotson | Lexington Herald-Leader

 

BY BEN [email protected]

 

Belfry offensive lineman Austin Dotson received a scholarship offer from the University of Kentucky while on campus Saturday for the program’s latest junior day event.

 

He promptly accepted, becoming UK’s eighth football commitment for the recruiting class of 2017.

Dotson — a 6-foot-6, 290-pound offensive tackle — is an under-the-radar recruit who is still not well known outside of eastern Kentucky. He does not have a player page on any of the national recruiting websites, and major college programs were just now starting to find out about him.

 

Tennessee was one school showing interest. Marshall and Florida Atlantic recently offered.

 

UK’s coaches feel like they got an early steal.

 

“I’m really happy for him,” said Belfry head coach Philip Haywood. “We knew that he had a lot of potential. He’s just improved by leaps and bounds over the course of the last year. I think, as the season went on and more people started seeing him play, they realized that this guy is a pretty good football player.”

 

The film from Dotson’s junior season shows a player who gets a quick first step off the line and often excels at blocking in open space.

 

Haywood says Dotson, who is still just 16 years old, started as a sophomore and has always been a physically strong player. He added that he improved on his speed and quickness as much as anything during his junior year.

 

“He’s a very physical kind of kid,” he said. “And, of course, we’re more of a running team. You’re not going to see too many pass blocks on (film). But he’s got the feet and the arms that colleges look for in tackles.”

 

Dotson is UK’s first offensive line commitment for the class of 2017. The Cats’ top remaining uncommitted target in that group — Lafayette’s Jedrick Wills — is ranked by Rivals.com as a five-star player and the No. 3 offensive tackle in the country.

 

Wills has been a frequent visitor to UK over the past year.

 

Belfry’s roster also includes offensive lineman Cole Bentley and defensive lineman Ray Horton, two more class of 2017 recruits that UK has been evaluating for possible scholarship offers.

 

The Pirates rolled to their third consecutive state championship in December, and Haywood said Dotson blossomed during that postseason.

 

“He had a great playoff run,” he said. “And he played very well in the state championship game. He was a very dominant player. And I think coaches just started noticing him more. And maybe a couple of tapes got floating around out there and they said, ‘Hey, look at this guy.’

 

“Plus, he has that 6-6 frame that coaches are looking for. I think with that, plus his athletic ability, people started saying they needed to take a closer look at this guy.”

Congrats, young man! Look forward to watching you play!

Congratulations:dancingpa on the commit to Kentucky:ylsuper::clap:, I just saw this on ksr.

One thing I love about Dotson's film is there is no footage from Pile Central, Sheldon Clark, Harlan County, or Bath County.

 

It's easy to look like a 4 Star prospect dominating weak competition but nearly every highlight with Dotson was against quality competition.

Congrats to the current Pirate and, hopefully, future Wildcat. Even at 295, I still see plenty of room to fill out that 6'6" frame. Size, strength, length, agility, athleticism, technique, a nasty streak... he's got the total package.

 

If he stays with his commitment, and UK can snag Jedrick Wills, the Wildcats would have an outstanding crop of young OL including Jackson, Young, and Fortner from this year's class.

He's a big boy. Met him not that long ago.

Coach Stoops and Coach Schlarman visited Belfry today and posed with signee Austin Dotson.

 

Big A makes both of them look tiny. :eek:

 

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Only 17 right now.... just think about that

That kid is a beast!

And we wonder if anyone will beat Belfry in 3A smh

And we wonder if anyone will beat Belfry in 3A smh

The original article is a year old, I just bumped it up with that pic from yesterday.

 

Austin will graduate in May and is part of that monster class that just completed their career for the Pirates.

Did they offer his buddy Horton while there?

Did they offer his buddy Horton while there?

 

Nope

 

Horton seems to be very impressed with Florida Atlantic and Lane Kiffen right now though. Went on an Official Visit recently.

Nope

 

Horton seems to be very impressed with Florida Atlantic and Lane Kiffen right now though. Went on an Official Visit recently.

You can't miss on kids like him in state. Hope he kicks butt down there in much better weather

Nope

 

Horton seems to be very impressed with Florida Atlantic and Lane Kiffen right now though. Went on an Official Visit recently.

 

Horton will be one the U.K. Staff looks back at in a couple of years with much regret. Not only can he play in prime time on Saturday he COULD be seen one day on Sunday.