NORMAL, Ill. - Illinois State head football coach Brock Spack bolstered his defensive line Wednesday, when he announced the signing of junior college transfer Tim Dawson (Wakulla, Fla./Iowa Central CC) to a national letter of intent (NLI) to continue his football career at ISU.
Dawson, at 6-foot-2, 280 pounds, will have two years of eligibility remaining for the Redbirds.
"We lost some seniors on the defensive line and we were looking for some athletic tackles to fill some of those spots," Spack said. "Tim is very athletic, fast and moves well on the interior of the line. He was a linebacker coming out of high school and was moved to the line after he put on some weight. That speed and athleticism is something we look for in our tackles, and I think he will be a great addition to the program."
Dawson played in 10 games in 2010 and helped the Iowa Central Tritons to a No. 18 ranking in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) national poll under the leadership of head coach Kevin Twait. The Tritons (7-3) capped off the season with a lopsided 32-7 victory over No. 12 Rochester Community and Technical College in the third-annual North Star Bowl at Rochester Regional Stadium. A first-team all-region selection, Dawson ranked fourth on the team with 43 tackles, including 13 solo stops, and was second on the team with three sacks. He was also recruited by Western Illinois, Eastern Illinois, and South Dakota State.
The Wakulla, Fla., native sat out the 2009 season at Iowa Central as a medical redshirt, after transferring from Butler Community College after sitting out the 2008 season as a redshirt. Dawson was tabbed as a three-star recruit by Rivals.com coming out of high school in 2007, after he was named a Florida Class 3A all-state selection and was a First-Team All-Big Bend Conference pick after leading the area with 25 sacks.
Spack and his staff will expand their roster again on Feb. 2, on national signing day.
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