Early Enrollee Q&A: Get to know offensive lineman Dawson Deaton

We continue our Signee Q&A series today with Frisco (TX) offensive lineman Dawson Deaton. Deaton, a legacy Red Raider and three-star prospect, joined his teammate Jack Anderson as a Texas Tech commit pretty early in the process, committing in February. The highly sought-after recruit chose Tech over 19 other offers.

Get to know Dawson Deaton below…

TELL ME SOMETHING ABOUT YOURSELF THAT MIGHT SURPRISE PEOPLE.

“I haven’t always been big. I started high school at about 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds (now, 6-foot-5, 300 pounds). I played basketball, and I thought I was going to be a basketball player and then I started playing football. The fact that I thought I was going to be a basketball player, and I used to be a really small guy. A lot of people don’t know that.”

WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE FOOTBALL PLAYER OF ALL TIME AND WHO DO YOU MODEL YOUR GAME AFTER?

“I’d probably say Odell Beckham Jr. He has always been my favorite ever since he came into the league. I model my game after Larry Allen, which why I wear number 73. He is a guy I look up to as an offensive lineman and kind of how he played with a mean streak all the time. I try to model my game after him.”

YOUR MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT FROM YOUR HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL CAREER?

“The relationship I built with a lot of guys on my team and some of the coaches. I wouldn’t say that there is one moment that sticks out, just all the friendships I made.”

DID YOU EVER HAVE AN EMBARRASSING MOMENT PLAYING FOOTBALL?

“There’s a lot of them. I’d say it was pretty embarrassing last year in the first round of the playoffs when we got killed by Lovejoy. It was like three touchdowns, and it was pretty bad. We were favored to win, too. I’d say that was one of my embarrassing moments for sure.”

WHEN DID YOU FIRST REALIZE THAT YOU HAD THE POTENTIAL TO BE A Div.1 FOOTBALL PLAYER?

“Not until after my sophomore season. During my sophomore season, I was still playing tight end and weighed about 200 pounds. Then I started working out with Jack (Anderson) a lot, and he ate a lot of Chipotle. I got to be pretty big and then going into my junior season I was about 6-foot-5, 280 pounds and I realized I had good size and that’s when I realized I could go on to play college football.”

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO THE MOST WHEN YOU HEAD TO TEXAS TECH?

“I’m looking forward to the opportunity to compete and am super excited for spring practice starting and just having the chance to go in there and compete for a starting spot on the team that I’ve been dreaming of playing for since I was little.”

WHAT'S THE MOST UNIQUE THING A COACH SAID OR DID DURING YOUR RECRUITMENT?

“I think it was pretty unique when I got an offer from a school, and I hadn’t even talked to the coach yet. Literally the first thing he said to me was that I had an offer which I thought was really weird and kind of a strange way to recruit someone. To not even talk to them and then he DMs me and says I have an offer, I thought that was pretty unique.

“It was like signing day last year for the 2016 kids, and he said that they were trying to start the 2017 class and that I have an offer, something like that.”

WHAT WAS IT THAT MADE YOU THINK, "TECH IS THE PLACE FOR ME" ?

“I’ve always kind of known that I was going to go to Tech, even before I knew that I would be playing football there. My parents went there and pretty much my whole entire family. I’m like the 12th Red Raider in my family, so I’ve always kind of had a strong connection to the school, and I would be going there even if I wasn’t playing football.”

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE MOMENT DURING THE RECRUITING PROCESS?

“I’d probably say my visit in January of 2016. It was before I committed and all the 2016 guys were up on their official visits and Jack and I went. I got to meet a lot of the 2016 guys and a lot of the current players. I think that really sealed the deal for me for sure. That was a really fun trip, and I got to learn a lot about the football program, too.”

WHAT WAS THE WORST PART ABOUT THE PROCESS?

“I would say waiting for that first offer. It felt like it was taking forever. Coaches had started talking to me for a while before I got that first offer. When it finally came through, it was a huge relief. It was pretty stressful a little bit trying to get that first one. Tech was my first offer.”

WHAT SCHOOL WOULD YOU HAVE CHOSEN IF YOU HADN'T SIGNED WITH THE RED RAIDERS?

“I don’t really have an answer to that. I was never really thinking of another school and Tech is the perfect place for me. I wouldn’t want to be going anywhere else.”

DO YOU HAVE A NICKNAME?

“No, not really.”

WHAT PERSON, DEAD OR ALIVE, WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE DINNER WITH?

“I’d probably say Leonardo DiCaprio. I really like all of his movies, and he is one of the best actors out there. I think he could be a really interesting guy to have dinner with.”

WOULD YOU RATHER FIGHT 100 DUCK-SIZED HORSES OR ONE HORSE-SIZED DUCK?

“Probably the horse-sized duck. I’d rather fight one thing than fight 100 things. The duck would be pretty big, which is true, and either way it wouldn’t be an ideal situation, but I still would rather fight the big duck.”

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE?

“Inception.”

HAVE YOU DECIDED ON WHAT YOU WANT TO MAJOR IN AT TECH?

“I haven’t decided yet but right now I am between business and sports management. If I redshirt and because I’m an early enrollee, I might be able to major in both. That would be nice.”

WHAT NUMBER WOULD YOU LIKE TO WEAR AT TECH AND WHY IS THAT NUMBER SIGNIFICANT TO YOU?

“Number 73 is what I want to wear. Justin (Murphy) had to retire due to his injuries, so I think it is available. That is what I want to wear because of Larry Allen, and my brother also wears number 73 so it is kind of a family thing, too.”

WHAT POSITION WILL YOU BE PLAYING AT TEXAS TECH?

“I’m starting off at center.”

WHAT IS A PERSONAL STRENGTH THAT YOU WILL BRING TO THE TABLE AT TECH?

“On the field I think I will be bringing a lot of aggressiveness to the offensive line. Just getting after it, firing off the ball, and driving people back. That is my favorite thing to do.

“Even though it is a pass heavy offense, being able to get after people is my favorite thing to do.”

WHAT IS ONE THING THAT YOU NEED TO WORK ON IN ORDER TO PLAY AT THE NEXT LEVEL?

“Technique for sure and pass blocking. Mostly the use of my hands is what I’m working on right now and is probably my main weakness.”

DO YOU EXPECT TO REDSHIRT THIS SEASON?

“It is really up in the air. They are telling me that I’m coming in in the spring with all the other early enrollees, and we are all just going to be fighting for a spot throughout spring and fall camp. If I’m ready to play, they will play me. If it would be better for me to redshirt, they are going to redshirt me. It just depends how the spring and fall goes.”

WHAT DO YOU WANT YOUR LEGACY TO BE WHEN YOU LEAVE TEXAS TECH?

“Since the Big 12 is having a championship game next year, I would love to be the first team to win the Big 12 Championship game, so I’m sure everybody else has that goal on the team, too.

“I want to be known as the guy who gets after it every snap and never takes a play off, that’s what I kind of pride myself in and how I want to be viewed when I leave.”