No. 63 | |||||||||
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Position: | Center | ||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||
Date of birth: | June 17, 1965 | ||||||||
Place of birth: | Lexington, Kentucky | ||||||||
Career information | |||||||||
High school: | Lexington (KY) Bryan Station | ||||||||
College: | Kentucky | ||||||||
NFL Draft: | 1988 / Round: 2 / Pick: 44 | ||||||||
Career history | |||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Games played: | 184 |
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Games started: | 181 |
Fumble recoveries: | 1 |
Player stats at NFL.com |
Dermontti Farra Dawson (born June 17, 1965) is a former American football center. He played his entire career with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League (NFL), and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2012.
Dawson was born in Lexington, Kentucky where he attended Bryan Station High School. He was a nationally ranked high school track and field performer in the discus and shot put.
After having a bad experience playing ninth grade football, Dawson chose not to go out for his high school team his sophomore year. He joined the football team as a junior after being recruited due to his size by the school's football coach. He was an all-state offensive tackle in high school and eventually accepted a football scholarship to attend the University of Kentucky. Among his high school teammates were future NFL players Marc Logan and Cornell Burbage.
Dawson played center and guard at Kentucky. He lettered in each of his four years. In his freshman year in 1984 the team defeated Wisconsin in the Hall of Fame Bowl. As a senior in 1987 Dawson was named second-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC).