For many sports fans, the college bowl season is as necessary to the spirit of the holiday season as any decoration or tradition. And while we all (well at least most of us) wish that the post season at the FCS Bowl Championship level was a little more like the FCS Bowl Subdivision, the whole process can still easily be admired from a far as a timeless piece of American athletetics.
There are countless players and developing stories to keep an eye on, but fans in Central Virginia who wind up watching the games closely might wind up noticing some familiar names.
Two years ago Marcus Dowtin helped guide Fork Union to a 6-4 record as the team’s feature running back, on top of playing linebacker. Now the former Blue Devil is playing for the University of Georgia and after almost a month of preparation, Dowtin is heading to the Independence Bowl in Mobile, Alabama on December 28th when they will face Texas A&M. Dowtin and company have had a healthy chunk of time to prepare for the game, something the FUMA graduate has enjoyed.
“Actually, this has been a lot fun,” Dowtin said of the long layoff. “It’s been a chance to get back into the weight room and really focus on the fundamentals. You get a lot of time to focus on those things for a bowl game. It’s not something you get to do during the regular season every week.”
After seeing significant playing time last season, Dowtin has stepped into a larger as a middle linebacker for the Bulldogs, appearing in 10 games this year and as a starter in three of those. The sophomore has led the team in tackles in games twice so far, with a 7-tackle performance against Texas Tech and a career high 8-tackle outing at then No.9 Oklahoma State.
“It’s been a lot different this year,” Dowtin said. “Things have slowed down and gotten easier. It’s been a great expererience.”
Now that he’s been in Athens for a year and a half, the Georgia defender looks back fondly on his days at FUMA under Blue Devils coach Micky Sullivan
“That was also a great experience,” Dowtin said. “When I was there at Fork Union coach Sullivan everyone made sure that I was doing the right things. They helped a lot with my time management and that made the transition (to playing college football) a lot easier.”
Dowtin isn’t the only player in the area who will see field during the holiday season – infact, he won’t even be the only former Blue Devil as Bradon Caleb will suit up for the Oklahoma Sooners in the Sun Bowl on New Year’s Eve against Stanford. Jamil Shaw and Skyler Allen, also FUMA graduates, will go to the Little Caesar’s Bowl the day after Christmas as their Ohio Bobcats face the Thundering Herd from Marshall.
Other notable players from the area who will go bowling include former Goochland star D.J. Coles, who will head to Atlanta where his Virginia Tech Hokies square off against Tennessee in the Chick-fil-A Bowl as well as former Orange County quarterback Bradley Starks who will join the West Virginia Mountaineers as they look to spoil Bobby Bowden’s final game as the head coach of Florida State in the Gator Bowl on New Year’s Day.
So just in case there wasn’t enough to pay attention to in these following weeks, keep an eye on some of these homegrown products.
