Ras-I Luis Dowling ( ; born May 9, 1988) is an American

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 ...

coach and former player who is the co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach for the

William & Mary Tribe The William & Mary Tribe is a moniker for the College of William & Mary's athletic teams and the university's community more broadly. William & Mary has won two team national championships (both in men's tennis), the AIAW championships in wo ...

. He played professionally as a

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

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). Dowling played

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 ...

for the

Virginia Cavaliers The Virginia Cavaliers, also known as Wahoos or Hoos, are the athletic teams representing the University of Virginia, located in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers compete at the NCAA Division I level ( FBS for football), in the Atlantic Coast C ...

. He was selected by the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

in the second round of the

2011 NFL draft The 2011 NFL draft was the 76th installment of the annual National Football League draft, NFL draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Rad ...

. He was also a member of the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

and

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

Early life

Dowling was born in

Chesapeake, Virginia Chesapeake is an independent city in Virginia, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 249,422, making it the second-most populous city in Virginia, the tenth largest in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 92nd-most populous city in the ...

. He attended

Deep Creek High School Deep Creek High School is a public secondary school in Chesapeake, Virginia. It is part of Chesapeake City Public Schools and is located on 2900 Margaret Booker Drive. History In 1845, Norfolk County, Virginia constructed the first public scho ...

in Chesapeake, where he played

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

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 ...

, and some

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

. As a senior, he recorded 60

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

and two

interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for ...

s as a defensive back. As a receiver he had 14 receptions for 255 yards and four

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 ...

College career

Dowling attended the University of Virginia. As a freshman in 2007 Dowling played in 12 games, recording 44 tackles and two interceptions. As a sophomore in 2008 he started nine of 11 games. He finished the season with 43 tackles and a team-leading three interceptions. In 2009 Ras-I Dowling was voted All-ACC second team. He was also awarded ACC Defensive Player of the week vs. Indiana with nine tackles and the first sack of his career. He ended the season with three interceptions. Dowling was voted 2010 Pre-season All-ACC selection and second team All-American for the first time in his career.

Professional career

New England Patriots

Dowling was selected with the first pick of the second round (33rd overall) by the

in the

. Dowling played two games for the Patriots in the 2011 season before injuring his hip in Week 2 against San Diego. On October 29, 2011, the Patriots placed him on Injured Reserve, ending his 2011 season. On October 26, 2012, Dowling was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

with a torn thigh muscle, ending his 2012 season. On August 28, 2013, the Patriots released Dowling as part of their roster cutdown to 75 players.

New York Jets

The

signed Dowling to the practice squad on October 23, 2013. He was released on August 24, 2014.

Oakland Raiders

On September 1, 2014, Dowling was signed to the Raiders' practice squad. On December 13, 2014, the

signed Dowling to the active roster. On September 1, 2015, he was released by the Raiders.

Carolina Panthers

On November 23, 2015, Dowling was signed to the

' practice squad. On February 7, 2016, Dowling's Panthers played in

Super Bowl 50 Super Bowl 50 was an American football game to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2015 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) ...

. In the game, the Panthers fell to the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

by a score of 24–10.

Coaching career

On January 14, 2019, William & Mary head football coach

Mike London Michael Wilson London Sr. (born October 9, 1960) is an American college football coach. He is the head football coach for the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. He is a former defensive back and associate head coach and defe ...

hired Dowling to serve as the cornerbacks coach for the William & Mary Football team. After serving as Secondary coach over the next three seasons, Dowling was promoted to Co-Defensive coordinator.

References

External links

William & Mary profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dowling, Ras-I 1988 births Living people American football cornerbacks American football safeties Howard Bison football coaches New England Patriots players New York Jets players Oakland Raiders players Virginia Cavaliers football players William & Mary Tribe football coaches Coaches of American football from Virginia Players of American football from Chesapeake, Virginia Carolina Panthers players