Dakota Dozier ~ ~ ~

[kelly]

When he went home to South Carolina after last season, Dakota Dozier really had no idea how to play center. But there he was, in the Jets' spring practices just a few months later, snapping balls, and getting work as a backup center. Dozier knows he isn't going to win the starting center job. That belongs to 31-year-old Nick Mangold, who has held the position ever since the Jets drafted him in 2006. Mangold has missed just three career games. But Dozier, drafted in the fourth round last year, also knows versatility is important for a middle-round offensive lineman trying to stick in the NFL. Dozier didn't play at all last season, as he transitioned from being a tackle at Furman to a guard with the Jets. Immediately after last season, Dozier said, some people close to him suggested he work on snapping, in case the Jets wanted him to play some center. Dozier agreed that "it would be a good thing for me to do." 

 

When the Jets hired Steve Marshall as their new offensive line coach, he spoke to Dozier over the phone and suggested Dozier should start learning how to play center while he was home. Dozier told Marshall he was already doing it. "Once coach said it, I did it even more," Dozier said. "When you have a coach telling you it's probably a good idea to do it, you know it's something they're thinking about making a change to."So once Dozier returned to the Jets' facility this spring, he "fully anticipated" that he would get center work in practice. 

 

Why do the Jets' coaches like Dozier as a center ?

 

"Well, he's bright," said head coach Todd Bowles. "He's short. He's compact. He can play both spots [guard and center]. We'll see, going forward, when we put the pads on [in training camp] whether he's good at one or the other." Bowles' staff tinkered with the offensive line during the spring, getting backups a bunch of action. But it's impossible to draw any sweeping conclusions from these no-pads workouts, especially for offensive linemen. That is something Bowles has consistently emphasized. So Bowles continues to take a wait-and-see approach with Dozier as a center. "When we get the pads on, we'll see if that's worth what it is out of pads," Bowles said of Dozier looking good as a center this spring. Dozier also practiced at left guard this spring, though most of his action came as a backup center, he said. The only starting spot up for grabs on the Jets' offensive line is right guard, but Dozier didn't practice there in the spring. James Carpenter, a free agent pickup, will be the starting left guard. 

 

When training camp begins later this month, Dozier expects to continue playing both guard and center in practice. Bowles echoed that sentiment. Dalton Freeman, last year's backup center, also continues to play that position. Freeman played 111 snaps last year, after not playing at all as a rookie in 2013. So the Jets' backup center situation remains very much unproven, which is why it can't hurt to get Dozier some action at the position. He's done well so far, drawing rave reviews from veteran right guard Willie Colon. Dozier never played any center in high school. His collegiate center experience amounted to four or five snaps in practice, and none in a game. "Never really worked on it much until this past year," Dozier said.Dozier tried to hone his technique back at Furman, with help from his college offensive line coach, Scott Smouse. Dozier's experience as a center started informally this offseason, with no pads on. While working out at Furman, he had a couple friends field his snaps as he polished his technique. 

 

"It's one thing snapping with nobody in front of you," Dozier said. "So to be honest with you, I probably struggled a little bit early on [in the Jets' spring practices], with actually having people in front of me. I've been working on it. Each day I go out to practice, I get a couple extra snaps before. I really feel like I'm getting more comfortable every day." Dozier quickly realized how fast a center must get his snapping hand up, to block, after he delivers the ball to the quarterback. 

Having Mangold around helps Dozier's adjustment, too. "I couldn't ask for a better situation," Dozier said. "Just listening to him make calls, seeing how he processes things. He'll tell me how to take a little better footwork. Anything he says, I'm paying attention to. Obviously, he's one of the best in the game." 

 

As Bowles mentioned, Dozier's physique makes him a good fit as an interior offensive lineman. He is 6-foot-4 and 312 pounds — a bit on the short side to play tackle in the NFL. That's why the Jets immediately moved him to guard last season. Dozier understood that the move inside "makes a lot of sense," because of his body type. Dozier said moving from tackle to guard last season was "quick" and "easy." But with all of the center's physical and mental duties, Dozier found switching from guard to center to be a bit more challenging. "For a couple days, it was like, 'Man, it's going to be a lot different,'" Dozier said. "But then I started doing it and got here [back with the Jets], started learning the offense from a center aspect. It just helps you learn the offense so much better." 

 

> http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2015/07/dakota_dozier_jets_center_guard.html

[Jet9]

I really want this guy to stick.

Whether it's so Idzik's reign isn't a TOTAL failure, or because he from a small school, not sure. Maybe it's because I know a really cool white wolf-looking dog named Dakota.