Julius Dawkins is an American former professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
player who was a
wide receiver
A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...
in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL) and
Arena Football League
The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...
(AFL). He was selected by the
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...
in the 12th round of the
1983 NFL draft. As a
college football
College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
player with the
Pittsburgh Panthers, he set a Pitt record with four touchdown catches in a game.
["Pitt Football's All-Time First-team All-Americans"]
, May 23, 2006 (accessed December 29, 2017). Dawkins also played for the
Pittsburgh Gladiators.
College career
In his junior year at Pitt in 1981, he was an
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City.
Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
first-team
All-American
The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...
after hauling in 46 receptions for 767 yards and 16
touchdowns.
College Football News ranked Dawkins the fourth best receiver in the history of the University of Pittsburgh.
Professional career
Buffalo Bills
Dawkins was selected by the
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...
in the 12th round of the
1983 NFL draft. In two years with the team he started five of 27 games, recording 32 receptions or 418 yards and three
touchdown
A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...
s.
Pittsburgh Gladiators
Dawkins played two years in the
Arena Football League
The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...
for the
Pittsburgh Gladiators in 1988 and 1990. During the two years he had 90 receptions for 1,334 yards and 30 touchdowns as a receiver and 21
tackles and three
interceptions as a
linebacker
Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dawkins, Julius
Living people
American football wide receivers
American football linebackers
Pittsburgh Panthers football players
Buffalo Bills players
Pittsburgh Gladiators players
Sportspeople from Monessen, Pennsylvania
Players of American football from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
Year of birth missing (living people)