Dawson ready to compete at WVU camp

Dawson ready to compete at WVU camp

By JIM BUTTA

MORGANTOWN—It wasn’t exactly the season former-Parkersburg South standout Ryan Dawson pictured for himself when the two-time Class AAA all-state wide receiver signed to continue his football career at West Virginia University.

But, the 2005 season wasn’t a complete loss.

“The knee is fine now,” Dawson explained. “All the rehab that was done worked out fine for me.”

After missing out on all the things seniors do during the summer following their graduation to attend summer classes in Morgantown and get an early jump on learning the Mountaineers’ complex spread offense, Dawson saw his chances for playing time fade following a series of ankle and knee injuries which forced him to be sidelined during WVU’s 11-1 Sugar Bowl campaign.

“I didn’t have to go through any surgery, so not everything was bad,” continued the receiver. “And, I was still a part of the team.”

A solid part as the former-basketball all-stater was named the scout team champion in West Virginia’s 20-15 victory over East Carolina.

Still, even that accomplishment was a far cry from the career the 6-foot-4 jumping jack built while leading the Patriots to a state championship in his final season at the Blizzard Drive school in 2003.

“I’m more experienced now and I know the offense better so once camp starts I will be more focused and know what I am doing.”

But will that be enough to help the 185-pounder break into a receiving corp that returns its top six pass-catchers?

“The summer went real well for me,” added Dawson, who caught 115 passes for 2,200 yards and 39 touchdowns as a Patriot. “Right now, I’ve been playing behind Brandon (Myles). But, things could happen in the season and I could be thrown in there at any time.”

Something every Parkersburg resident who travels to Morgantown every game day would enjoy seeing.

But, for that feat to be accomplished, Dawson must get through summer camp in better shape than a year ago.

“I know what to expect now. Last year was really rough on me. I was really sore. But, you learn how to take care of your body after going through something like that.”

It has also helped that the Wood County native has also gotten another summer to work out with returning starting quarterback Pat White.

“Pat is great,” explained Dawson. “If he sees you do something wrong, he will tell us what we can do to make the play work.”

But, whether or not that will be enough to help Dawson break into a receiving corp that not only returns Myles, who led the gold and blue with 34 catches for 536 yards and three touchdowns, but also Darius Reynaud, Vaughn Rivers, Rayshawn Bolden, Dorrell Jalloh and Jeremy Bruce won’t be known camp begins in a week.

“Right now, I want to get some fishing in and do some things I’ve been wanting to do this summer,” added the freshman. “The key for me right now is to get a lot of sleep, condition a bit, and get ready to come back here and work.”