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Name: Juwan Dowels
Position: Cornerback
Year: Freshman
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 165
Hometown: Sunrise, FL
High School: American Heritage
2013 Stats: Dowels finished 2013 with 44 tackles and nine interceptions and was named the Broward Class 5A-4A-3A-2A Defensive Player of the Year. He was also a first-team all-state selection.
2014 Projections: The preseason depth chart lists Dowels as Brandon Reddish's backup at left corner, which seems to indicate that he won't redshirt. Expect to see him on the field this fall, at least in some capacity and maybe frequently.
How'd He Get Here: Dowels was offered by a number of D1 schools -- including Oklahoma, Clemson, and Texas A&M -- before verbally committing to Syracuse in January.
What'd Recruiting Sites Say: ESPN, 247sports, and Rivals each rate Dowels at three stars.
Money quote: Secondary coach Fred Reed on Dowels:
"Juwan is a really good press cover cornerback, and that's kind of what we do, and he's really good at that. And that's what we liked about him on tape. He played against some guys who are 5-star skills. He has played against some really good people, practiced against some really good people, and he's held his own in those situations. His cover skills are what I like about him."
Links Of Wonder: Dowels played his first three high school seasons at Western High School but, because he wasn't garnering much attention from colleges, chose to transfer to American Heritage for his senior season. From there, the rest is history.
Twitter Feed: @Proud_To_Be_Me
Tweet Of Wonder: Apparently, Dowels isn't a fan of Richard Sherman.
Going to start an Anti-@RSherman_25 group !
— Juwan Dowels (@Proud_To_Be_Me_) June 6, 2014
What Does Shafer Think Of Him: At the Syracuse Signing Day Special, Shafer didn't mention Dowels by name but did comment on the secondary as a collective group.
"In the secondary I was looking to bolster the numbers, both at corner and at safety, because those guys not only give you a chance to fill in the gaps with a couple of corners that we lost that were pretty good football players for a few years, but also to help us in the kicking game. I felt it was an area that we needed to improve upon, with guys that could run and make plays in space, and I'm excited about these kids that we took in the secondary."
Interesting Nugget O' Interest: Dowels was actually committed to Northern Illinois last summer but decommitted in early January, just weeks before he gave Syracuse his verbal commitment.
Let's Get A Good Look Atcha: