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Kentucky’s win over South Carolina Saturday is not why twins Andrew and David Dowell of St. Edward High School in Lakewood, Ohio, gave their verbal commitment to the Wildcats Sunday. However, the victory certainly reinforced the feelings the two defensive backs had about UK.
“It was a very exciting game. The team played well. With that comeback, they showed a no-quit attitude. That’s how you build a program. You get down, but you never quit,” said Will Dowell, the twins’ father.
David Dowell is a four-star prospect and ranked as one of the top 15 seniors in Ohio. Scout.com ranks him as the No. 158 overall prospect in the 2015 recruiting class. He’s rated as the No. 12 athlete in the country by Rivals.com
“I would say the game sealed the deal for me,” David Dowell said. “The atmosphere even before the game was electric. The fans were wild, but it was not one thing about Kentucky that sold me. It was a mixture of things. The overall experience of it all. The coaches, the campus, being around some players. I talked to Marcus McWilson, who is from Ohio. We had that connection and he was saying how much he likes it. I talked to the freshmen corners and they all really like it.”
Andrew Dowell is ranked as one of the top 30 running backs in the nation, but he is playing safety this season and that is where he’s projected to play at UK according to his father. He said Saturday was a “great win in SEC country” and that the overall atmosphere did surprise him.
“I was a bit taken aback,” Andrew admitted. “This was only our third college game but it was crazy.”
He said it reminded him of going to a Cleveland Browns game, where his father has season tickets.
“The win was not the deciding factor in their decision because we were already impressed,” Will Dowell, who is from the same general area in Ohio as UK coach Mark Stoops and recruiting coordinator Vince Marrow, said Sunday. “We went down and visited at the end of the summer on the back end of a visit to Vanderbilt. We have been talking with the family here since then and watching the program. We looked at the growth and progress of the program. Maybe last night kind of tipped the scales, but we were already impressed.”
He said David can play cornerback or receiver, but lately he’s been more “in the defense back mode” and is focused on that for college. He said Andrew moved to the secondary for last year’s playoffs and is now focused on strong safety.
“Both coach Stoops and coach Marrow were there when we played Cincinnati Elder and they came away impressed with his good hands, good skills and way he plays downhill,” Will Dowell said.
The Dowells, who originally had verbally committed to Northwestern, took their time making this decision. Neither will graduate early to enroll at UK for the second semester because their high school does not allow that.
“I am a physical, hands on player. One of my strong points is my technique and I am really focused on the field,” David said. “My brother is very physical. He goes 100 miles er hour flying on the football field and he can make plays with the ball in the air.
“I don’t think we ever really planned to go to the state school. We were both getting offers and we liked some of the same schools, so this just kind of happened.”
Andrew says he likes to play physical.
“Me and him (David) always competed,” Andrew said. “We push each other all the time.”
They both play guard on the basketball team that Andrew hopes can win a state championship.
“Talking to me, so of course I say I am the better player,” Andrew laughed and said. “But we push each other hard there, too.”
The Dowells play with Alex Stump, a four-star wide receiver who gave an early verbal commitment to Kentucky but now is contemplating an offer from Ohio State.
“He texted us to say congrats (on their UK commitment). We talk and stuff, but I would never speak on his behalf (about college),” Andrew said.
Will Dowell said Stump’s commitment to UK was “just icing on the cake” for his sons but that they all understand each player must make his own decision.
“We had some conversations with Alex and decided to take a visit and see what it was like. We had never been there before,” Will Dowell said after his sons picked UK over Wisconsin and Vanderbilt. “When we visited, it opened their eyes. The facility improvements coming to the stadium and all those things only increased their appetite for UK. We know Alex has other offers, but he’s committed to Kentucky and my sons are committed to the university of Kentucky.
“They are very excited and very thankful for the opportunity. They are looking forward to doing great things at UK.”
The schedule the twins face will help them once they get to Kentucky.
“They play for a quality program that is demanding and a lot of rigor to it. They will be very prepared for any program,” Will Dowell said.
“We are fortunate to come from such a great program that pushes you like it does,” David said. “With the guys we are around daily, it has to help you in college and we are going to keep challenging ourselves to get better daily.”
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Kentucky now has 16 verbal commitments in the 2015 recruiting class, including eight players from Louisville and four ranked as four-star players.
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