#52 Nick Dawson

Class: Freshman Ht/Wt: 6-3/228 Position: Linebacker Hometown: Charlotte, N.C.

I’ve never been so happy to type "Linebacker" in my entire life. I love you O-line, but I was about to go all Jessie Spano on you if I had to type another one of your summaries. (Someone please take away these caffeine pills) Moving on.

Louisville’s Take: Played for Andrew Howard at Phillip O. Berry Academy of Technology... rated a four-star prospect by Rivals.com and Scout.com... ranked 89th on the Rivals.com Top100 list... rated the second-best inside linebacker prospect by Rivals.com... rated the 13th-best outside linebacker prospect by Scout... ranked the 10th-best outside linebacker prospect by MaxPreps... voted an Army All-American... selected to play in the Army All-American game... originally committed to the Cardinals at the All-American game... led team to 11-3 finish as a senior... named to the North Carolina all-state high school football team by the Associated Press... named All-Queen City... credited with 126 tackles, 12 sacks, eight forced fumbles and six fumble recoveries in 11 games as a senior

Thoughts: I think the recruiting process of Nick was one of the most well documented and most followed over the last 3-4 years, right up there with Teddy B. Everyone knew that if Charlie could pull this guy it would be another "statement" player for the program. One that would make people take notice. I’m not a big recruiting guy. I don’t follow every move or camp out in Jody Demling’s backyard with my old Spy Tech toys, but I like to see quality guys show my school love. As word spread about Dawson liking Louisville it was nice to hear but I didn’t put much stock into it, until I saw this…

Wait a minute…this is for real. I was hooked and he didn’t disappoint. At the Army All-American game (Nationally Televised) Nick picked up the Louisville hat and it was official, he was a Card. Not to be outdone, he was also the very first player to fax in his LOI on signing day...a.k.a., "lets get this thing rolling".

No one would be surprised to see Nick start from Day 1, but he still needs to put in work. The story goes like this; he is big and physical with tons of power. Run at him, you’re going down. Try to block him, good luck. His biggest knock is coverage, so sticking to a college level wideout when necessary will be a challenge for him. Let’s remember, he’s a freshman, with raw talent that we know Charlie and Coach Jean-Mary will mold into something special. Can’t wait.

Potential Nicknames: "Dawsome", "Big D"