Texas center raves about his relationship with Kevin Mawae and ASU
There are no boxes to check in Ezra Dotson-Oyetade’s mind because, well, there’s no checklist for feel. Recruiting to Dotson-Oyetade, a three-star center from Dallas isn’t about a wish list, it’s about that sentiment that courses through your body when you know something is just right.
“When I feel like this is the place I want to be 100 percent, that’s where I want to go,” Dotson-Oyetade said. “It’s not about what they have or don’t have. It’s about me feeling comfortable.”
He’s still searching for that state of mind, navigating his recruitment through a pandemic, perhaps the worst time for someone to try and pick a school off of feel. Regardless, he presses on in his quest.
A few weeks ago, he and his mother set out on a road trip that allowed them to walk around the campuses of some of his top schools: Missouri, Vanderbilt, Memphis, Texas A&M, Texas, and Baylor. His upcoming plans call for two more -- longer --- road trips so he can see Arizona State and Florida.
“I get a better feel for the campus, and I’m able to interact with people around the campuses,” Dotson-Oyetade said. “Like just simply going into a store and seeing how people interact with one another. It shows you the different cultures and different people. It gives you a better insight as to what the campus and school are about, not just the football program.
“When I feel like this is the place I want to be 100 percent, that’s where I want to go,” Dotson-Oyetade said. “It’s not about what they have or don’t have. It’s about me feeling comfortable.”
Comfort has been sparse in all facets of life recently. Dotson-Oyetade understands that. He’s just trying to do the most he can given the challenging circumstances, to pick out the one hat amongst his 28 offers that fits him best.
He admitted that he’ll cut his choices down to a top-five in the near future while noting that the quartet of schools after him the hardest have been Virginia, Rutgers, Missouri, and ASU.
The Sun Devils began recruiting Dotson-Oyetade in April. From the get-go, his primary recruiter in Tempe was offensive analyst Kevin Mawae, who just happens to be an NFL Hall of Famer at the same position as Dotson-Oyetade. Who better to learn from?
“I mean, of course, it’s awesome. Who wouldn’t want to talk with someone who has been where you want to go?” Dotson-Oyetade said. “We’ve talked about my film and how he believes I can go out in open space and make plays like he did. I watched some of his film, and he believes I can do great things. It’s awesome to have someone who’s in the Hall of Fame encouraging you.”
Since he began playing football at 3-years old, the NFL has always been Dotson-Oyetade’s dream. But most of his youth football career, he was in the defensive trenches, envisioning a future of sacking quarterbacks. Eventually, high school came, and his size became best utilized on the offensive line, which led to him moving to center at the end of his sophomore year.
Now, colleges hope his 6-foot-3, 290-pound frame is blocking for their quarterbacks.
“Once I got to center, we had a bumpy start," Dotson-Oyetade admitted. "As soon as I got the hang of it and I got things down, it became fun to play, to dominate and get out and pull as a center and knock somebody over.”
Dotson-Oyetade noted that he expects to commit “sooner than later” and said that he has come to terms with the fact that he’ll probably have to make his decision without an official visit. It’s why he’s so willing to drive across the country to look at a college campus on a self-guided tour.
Because who knows, maybe he’ll walk around the Tempe campus, and everything will just feel right.
“Arizona State has a great coaching staff. Coach (Herm) Edwards and coach Mawae. They’re trying to turn the program and around and they’re going to do some good things, I believe,” Dotson-Oyetade said.
“It holds a lot of weight as far as recruitment knowing the coaches have been where you’re trying to go.”
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