Victor Dawson, a transfer from FBS Cincinnati after beginning his career at FCS Merrimack, has taken over as Illinois State’s feature back in the wake of Wenkers Wright’s injury. (Photo by GoRedbirds.com)
By Dan Verdun
Victor Dawson carried the ball seven times over the past two seasons at FBS Cincinnati. Over the past seven games, the senior transfer has become the Illinois State workhorse back.
And perhaps never more so than the past two weeks.
A week after rushing for 137 yards on 23 carries in ISU’s upset of top-seeded North Dakota State, Dawson toted the ball a season-high 29 times Saturday for a career-best 148 yards and caught three passes for 23 yards.
Those totals were a major factor in Illinois State’s 42-31 victory at No. 8 seed UC Davis in the FCS quarterfinals.
The win sent ISU into the Dec. 20 national semifinals at No. 12 seed Villanova. The game, which will be televised on ESPN2, kicks off at 6:30 p.m.
Dawson took over the No. 1 role since Wenkers Wright, who rushed for over 1,000 yards last season, has been sidelined with a shoulder injury.
In the last seven games, Dawson has averaged 19 carries and 99.57 yards a game. The 220-pounder has rushed for more than 100 yards four times.
In the season’s first eight games, Dawson averaged 10 attempts and 49.8 yards.
“I just try to make the most out of my plays,” Dawson said. “I try to take it one play at a time and trust everything.”
Dawson, who went over the 1,000-yard mark Saturday, said he’s more comfortable reading the running lanes than he was earlier in the season.
“That just comes with time,” he said. “Time after time, running the same plays at practice. That translates to the game.”
Dawson credited his offensive line for Saturday’s success.
“They got great pushes and allowed me to be one-on-one with the secondary,” he said.
Senior Jake Pope was part of the push that allowed the Redbirds to run for a season-high 266 yards.
“That kid was running all over the place,” Pope said of Dawson. “If there is anything about Victor Dawson, he puts in the work on the field, off the field. You see him in the weight room on our days off, so the way that he played doesn’t surprise me in the slightest.”
Pope, who shifted from right tackle to left tackle when Brandon Smith suffered a season-ending injury earlier this fall, said he knew Dawson was more than capable.
“I’m just glad that he was able to execute,” Pope said. “He was a game-changer for us. There were arm tackles left and right that he was breaking. There were safeties and linebackers filling in the gaps and he was just getting by them.”
Dawson began his career at FCS Merrimack before spending two years at Cincinnati. Now, the Akron native is the feature back as Illinois State heads to the national semifinals for only the third time in school history.
“I just keep those legs churning and fight until the whistle is blown,” he said.
Dan Verdun is a co-founder of Prairie State Pigskin. He has written four books: NIU Huskies Football, EIU Panthers Football, ISU Redbirds Football and SIU Salukis Football.
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