Prospect Review: Mark Dodson Jr.

(Paul Gandy, 247 Sports)

Mark Dodson Jr.

Running Back

Whitehaven High School (Memphis, Tenn.)

5’10 193 Lbs.

Rivals: 4 star

Scout: 4 star

ESPN: 4 star

247: 4 star

Chose Ole Miss over Vanderbilt.

Dodson also had offers from Arkansas, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Tennessee, and Texas among others.

Committed to Ole Miss on May 14, 2012 and enrolled early.

Possible playing time in 2013: Ole Miss returns three of the top four rushers from last year including senior Jeff Scott. With the late success of I’Tavius Mathers, he should expect to see some more carries in 2013. Dodson comes in with three other talented running backs, but he is the only one who will go through spring practice. That is critical for his opportunity to see the field this fall as the playbook is deeper and he will have a giant head start on learning it. Hugh Freeze loves to go deep with every unit and running back is no different. Expect to see the majority of the carries to be split between Scott and Mathers, but it would be a shock if we don’t see Dodson on the field in 2013.

Wrap-up: Dodson is an all-purpose back who does everything well. He has a low center-of-gravity and does a good job with staying on his feet. He has above-average speed and power. He breaks tackles well and has some juking ability in the open field that brings to mind Stuart Scott’s “okee-doke” phrase. The best part of his game is his ability to find the hole quickly and hit it. His field vision is elite and his head is always up on where to go next. That is the big reason why he is the all-time leading rusher in Shelby County history with over 7,000 career yards.