We have two more freshman running back profiles to run through today, covering freshman Daylan Smothers and Dante Dowdell.
Oklahoma Sooners running back Daylan Smothers comes in as a three star recruit joining a loaded backfield, and is a part of a strong Sooners recruiting class that includes five star quarterback Jackson Arnold and talented receiver Jacquize Pettaway.
Dante Dowdell headed to Oregon to join a talented group of backs led by Bucky Irving and Noah Whittington, who combined for over 1,700 yards and ten touchdowns last season. Oregon quarterback Bo Nix found the endzone himself 14 times in a highly productive year, and Dowdell will now integrate himself into that offense with a view to becoming the future of the program at RB.
Daylan Smothers – Running Back, Oklahoma
Daylan Smothers was ranked as the nation’s number 12 running back by ESPN, who also ranked him as a four star recruit. He played high school ball at West Charlotte High in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he was named the states High School Player of the Year as a sophomore in 2021.
The Oklahoma Sooners running back was recruited by some of the best programs in the country, including Alabama, Michigan and Ohio State. He took visits to Florida State and local NC State, but chose to head to Oklahoma and enrolled on January 16th of 2023.
Smothers helped his team to three straight state championship games and rushed for 1,581 yards and 28 touchdowns as a junior in high school.
Dante Dowdell – Running Back, Oregon
Dante Dowdell was a consensus four star recruit who had almost 30 offers from around the country, including several SEC schools and the likes of Florida State, Cincinnati and Penn State. He chose to head West to Oregon, and committed on May 13th, 2022.
Dowdell played high school football at Picayune Memorial in Picayune, Mississippi, and was ranked as one of the best players in the state across multiple scouting platforms. He rushed for 5,301 yards and 65 touchdowns in his high school career and was a key feature for Picayune in the playoffs two seasons in a row.
The Ducks running back is tough to bring down, and is a bigger back at six foot one and 210 pounds. He’s got strong speed, can pull away from tacklers and shifts through gaps well with lateral movement and cuts.
2023-2024 CFB Season Opportunity
Daylan Smothers
I would imagine that Daylan Smothers follows a similar path to that of Gavin Sawchuk last season, who appeared in three games and managed 17 carries for 112 yards and a touchdown last season.
Sawchuk redshirted the season and will now go into the 2023 college football season with the potential to play a larger role behind starter Javontae Barnes. Marcus Major returns, now a redshirt senior and the RB2 role will likely come down to either he or Sawchuk this college season.
Javontae Barnes was waiting in the wings as RB2 last season behind Eric Gray, and posted 515 yards and five touchdowns on 116 carries as the number two back. With Eric Gray now having moved on to the NFL, Barnes is situated for a far larger role in the offense.
Smothers could see some reps, but the Sooners have enough talent on the roster to avoid throwing him into the fire too early. Maybe a couple of reps late in a couple of games this season, but a redshirt year would make sense with the current running back group for the Sooners.
Dante Dowdell
The Oregon Ducks R room is stacked this season with returning starter Bucky Irving and his right hand man Noah Whittington. The two will form one of the strongest duos across college football backfields this season, and the freshman won’t interfere with the playing time of those two guys unless there’s an injury.
Sophomore James Jordan will be RB3 this year, which leaves Dowdell and fellow Ducks freshman Jayden Limar as the supporting acts on the depth chart.
There’s a chance Dowdell features this year and picks up 30-50 reps, but it won’t be any more than that, and you have to wonder if that would be worth doing rather than redshirting the year in anticipation of a bigger role further down the line.
Pro’s and Con’s for playing time
Daylan Smothers
Daylan Smothers, nicknamed ‘Hollywood’ will almost undoubtedly make his mark at Oklahoma, but will it be this season?
The young talented back has a real skillset at the position. Local fans have been really hyping him up and when you put on the tape you can see why. He’s got standout speed and accelerates out of the gate to beat initial contact before bursting down the sideline and running away from defenders.
Some of his runs are stunning to watch, firing through the hole with an elite combination of speed and vision to make quick cuts and change direction to maximize yardage.
The Sooners might not throw him out there all that much this season, but when they do don’t say we didn’t warn you. This young man feels underrated and has the skills to be a top tier running back at the college level.
Dante Dowdell
Dante Dowdell’s skill set is really interesting. He’s a taller back and that is evident on his tape, sometimes looking a little too upright particularly when running into contact downfield, but he finds space really well.
For a player of his size who’s on the heavier side for a high school running back at around 210 pounds, his lateral quickness and mobility in tight spaces is very strong. When you combine that with good speed and the ability to fight through contact and keep his legs moving in one on one situations, you might just have a complete back.
Two years from now, there’s a good chance Dante Dowdell is the man for the Oregon Ducks, so while I’m fine with seeing him out there this year, I’d completely understand why you might redshirt him in favor of allowing him to flourish with a heavy workload after Bucky and Whittington have moved on.
Why draft him in CFB fantasy leagues?
Daylan Smothers
Go and watch his high school tape, and then you’ll know why you should draft him. You don’t have to be a talent evaluator to recognize the potential Daylan Smothers has.
When you have that kind of speed, and can pair it with exceptional vision at the line of scrimmage and the quick cuts and change of direction to make a man miss and keep on going, the sky’s the limit.
Daylan Smothers will break into the lineup at Oklahoma, probably next season, and I will envy the guy that has him on his college fantasy football roster if it’s anybody but me.
Dante Dowdell
He’s a great scheme fit for the Ducks and there’s a role for him that will open up when Bucky Irving moves on. I can see Dowdell becoming a key piece of the offense next season if Bucky does indeed declare for the NFL draft, and there is a chance that Noah Whittington goes too, even though both are currently juniors who could stay one more year.
If both leave, then suddenly Dowdell is a very interesting college fantasy football running back.
Stock Radar as an NFL prospect
Daylan Smothers 9%
I just see everything I would want to see from a high school player. He’s so diverse and understands the position really well. There’s a slight hint of impatience at times, but when he gets it right Smothers is explosive, fast and an all round playmaker.
Dante Dowdell 7%
I’m very interested to see how Dowdell’s skillset translates at the college level. He’s a rare breed at that size with the speed and movement that he has, and if the Ducks can nurture that talent and help the young man elevate his game then the NFL will be very interested in three to four years’ time.
