Meet the Mizzou Freshman: Defensive Tackle Jason Dowell's Ceiling, Fit with Tigers

Some players just feel like fits for the Missouri Tigers before they even touch the field for them. A perfect example of that is freshman defensive tackle Jason Dowell, who bleeds black and gold despite not yet playing a single snap.

Dowell also has family in Columbia now, after his sister, Shannon, transferred from Illinois State to play for head coach Kellie Harper's basketball team. The family ties, along with relationships he built during the recruiting process, made it fairly easy for Dowell to become a Tiger.

He is another well-versed multi-sport athlete, becoming one of the best wrestlers in the state of Illinois. He plays his position like a wrestler as well, using his leverage and strength to beat opponents. Now, he gets to do that in a Missouri uniform.

Take a look into what the Tigers are getting with freshman defensive tackle Jason Dowell.

Player Info

Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 295 lbs.
Hometown: Cahokia, Illinois
High School: Althoff Catholic

Recruiting

Consensus: 3-Star prospect
247Sports: Not ranked nationally, No. 59 position, No. 11 state
On3: Not ranked nationally, No. 78 position, No. 19 state
Rivals: Not ranked nationally, No. 27 position, No. 13 state
ESPN: Not ranked nationally, No. 54 position, No. 14 state

High school career

Like most of Missouri's freshman class, Dowell was productive for multiple seasons at Althoff Catholic. His junior year was the best season of his career, posting 83 total tackles and 11 sacks. He followed that up with a 74-tackle, 10.5-sack season as a senior.

Unlike some of Missouri's freshmen, Dowell was a four-year varsity contributor at his high school. He played a small role as a freshman, where he recorded 17 tackles and seven for loss, along with five sacks. The following season, he posted 54 tackles, four for loss and four sacks. That made for 30.5 sacks in four seasons.

Fit with the Tigers

Being another multi-sport athlete comes with plenty of athleticism and strategy for the game of football. Wrestling has long been a sport with ties to being a good offensive or defensive lineman, especially when it comes to the use of your hands and the leverage you can gain over an opponent.

Those are all boxes checked by Dowell. He has great hands and the speed and strength to go along with it, making him a viable option to move around on the front line. He's fairly refined in all of those things as well, which can be uncommon for incoming freshmen.

The one concern with Dowell is his size. He's big and has a decent frame for a defensive tackle at this very moment, but the amount of weight he may be able to add on in the future might not be significant. His frame appears to be pretty filled out already, which could be an issue at Missouri and potentially beyond.

Althoff Catholic went 33-12 while Dowell was contributing on the defensive side of the ball, losing only two games over his last two seasons. He was named a two-time all-state selection and Althoff Catholic claimed a state title to wrap everything up as a senior.

Coaches Thoughts

"Matt and Jason Dowell and Henry Fenuku, and Jason King, Keiton [Jones], Jack Lange, they all stayed together, group texts, were constantly recruiting to make this the class that we wanted it to be."Eli Drinkwitz on Signing Day

When will he play?

The defensive tackle room still lacks some clarity, even after the spring transfer window. This could open up some playing time possibilities for Dowell, given he has a good summer and fall.

Drinkwitz has always prided himself on the depth he has on his roster, especially at defensive tackle. They dipped into six or seven tackles last year and it looks like they could do the same thing this year, meaning Dowell could work himself into a role where he's one of those rotational players.

Dowell's main opponents on the depth chart, as of now, appear to be Elias Williams, Justin Bodford and Sam Williams. Those four, including Dowell, will be competing for a minimal rotational spot this season. If Dowell can earn the trust of his coaches with hard work in multiple areas, then he certainly has a chance at earning some snaps.

Ceiling and Floor

Ceiling: Dowell earns a depth role as a freshman in a weaker defensive tackle room, setting up for a larger one as he furthers his Missouri career.

Floor: He sits and waits, but does not play as a Missouri Tiger.