Interview: Auburn Hosts Georgia 2020 ATH Dawson Ellington on an Unofficial Visit

Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @HogManInLA

Dawson Ellington captured the attention of Georgia high school football fans and college recruiters during his eighth grade season. The 5-10, 175 pound, all-around athlete showed out during the 2015 season earning All-American status by Eastbay gaining a Division-I scholarship along the way.

The trend in recruiting by some college coaching staff has been to identify next level potential as early as possible. The early scouting can lead to early offers and that is exactly what happened for Ellington. The Woodward Academy rising star was offered by Louisville after playing running back, wide receiver, safety, corner, and some linebacker during his eighth grade year. Ellington has garnered interest from schools like Florida, Georgia Southern, Georgia Tech, and Kentucky.

Ellington took his first unofficial visit of the 2016 season on Saturday to Auburn seeing the Tigers take on ACC powerhouse Clemson. In a Recruiting News Guru exclusive interview, I sat down with Ellington to get his thoughts on his visit to the SEC titan and an update on the early part of his ninth grade campaign.

Interview

Dawson, with your Eastbay All-American invite you played corner. You played all over the field last year, where are you playing for Woodward this season?

“At the junior varsity level I am playing running back, slot, safety and I am on punt return.”

What about at the varsity level?

“At the varsity level they have me at corner and I may see some time at running back.”

How has your season gone so far at the JV level?

“It is going good so far. We have a lot of pieces on our team. We are 1-0.”

Do you know your stats from your first game?

“I don’t know. During our last game I had four or five carries. I got some snaps in at wide receiver too.”

What is your height and weight entering the season?

“5-10, 175 (pounds).”

Have you played at the varsity level yet?

“I got some playing time in two quarters so far.”

In your short time playing at the varsity level, what have you learned?

“The speed of the game is faster than last year. I’ve been adjusting to that.”

How did your unofficial visit to Auburn go?

“It went great. We hung around the coaches a little bit. We did the “Tiger Walk”, the walk the team takes going into the stadium. We watched the game and saw the stadium. It was great.”

What did you take away from the visit?

“I like the way they treated us. You could tell they wanted us to be there. I liked the campus and school a lot.”

You were originally supposed to go to the Florida game but switched because of the bad weather, do you have any other upcoming visits planned?

“Not as of right now.”

Let’s get back to your team, how does the varsity squad look so far?

“We look good. We lost our last game to Grady (14-10) but we have been working hard since then. We have kept grinding. We are not going to stop grinding until we win the whole thing.”

*Woodward won their first game against Westminster 36-17. The War Eagles were on a bye over Labor Day weekend.

Are there any games coming up that either you or the team as a whole are excited to play?

“Riverwood (Sept. 9) and Heron County (Sept. 30). Riverwood is a tough team. With Heron County, I’m from that area and I know a lot of the guys on the team. I want to play against them. That’ll be fun.”

Dawson, thanks for your time today and good luck with Riverwood this week.

“Thank you.”

Please help keep RecruitingNewsGuru.com FREE!

If RNG has helped you, a friend, or a family member through an article, video, or stylized interview with our countless hours of free promotion for high school, junior college, and college athletes – please donate. Any amount is appreciated!

Photo credit: Ellington family: Dawson Ellington at Auburn

Photo credit: youtube.com; No. 6 Dawson Ellington being interviewed at a Woodward Academy event.