As Mizzou's lone freshman defensive tackle, Jason Dowell still finds his way
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Emerging from his position group table, Jason Dowell received applause from his teammates.
The youngest guy in the room, Dowell never showed his age with a group of more seasoned defensive tackles. The freshman passed along his phone to a teammate to finish a game and put on a smile ahead of Fall Camp.
“All them are phenomenal big brothers and mentors,” Dowell said Sunday. “They took me under their wings, and they’ve taught me everything I’m supposed to know. … The camaraderie we have in the group and also in the room, I love it. I love it because it’s really not that big of a change from high school. I feel like the only thing now is that we’re competing against each other even more.”
Dowell enrolled at Missouri in the spring. By the time he stepped on campus, his primary recruiter, former defensive line coach Al Davis, already left the program for family reasons. Yet seeing that change right away never flustered the Class of 2025 three-star.
“That’s how college is,” Dowell said. “You got to adjust to it quickly, and it’s really not that much of a difference, because at the day, we still have Coach Blackwell with us. And he’s been a phenomenal mentor, just like Coach Al was, and he was already there.”
Both Davis and defensive tackles coach David Blackwell recruited Dowell, who committed to Missouri in April 2024. Blackwell has shown a “good cop, bad cop” approach, getting on the young defensive tackle when needed while still trying to be fun in his approach.
“He’s got the size and the strength to come in and be competitive,” Blackwell said. “We’re excited to get him in here to see what he can do.”
Dowell finished out his senior year of high school at Belleville (Ill.) Althoff Catholic with his decorated wrestling career. Although it didn’t end as planned, Dowell still impressed Blackwell with his background in the sport and ability to buy into programs that helped sculpt his now 6-foot-3, 306-pound frame.
“Especially the defensive linemen through the years, I’ve had a lot of success with guys that had a wrestling background,” Blackwell said. “Those guys typically have good balance. They play well on their feet, have strong hands.”
“I don’t want to sound cliche, but there’s people that don’t even have a little bit of this,” Dowell added. “There’s people that are still struggling. There’s people that they wish they can have another meal on their plate or have the access to these things that you have. … I’m just trying to just do my part and be the best teammate and best player I can be.”
Family at Missouri
With his cousin, Shannon Dowell, now enrolled as a transfer women’s basketball player, Jason kept thinking about her upcoming games. The two already bought each other’s jersey, with Jason still waiting on Shannon’s replica to come in the mail.
“I’m able to go and, of course, have fun at her games,” Jason said. “Being in the front row probably getting all loud and rowdy.”
Jason also teamed back up with cornerback Nick Deloach Jr., who got the defensive tackle into wrestling at Cahokia (Ill.) High before Jason later transferred. Having Deloach back in his corner, Jason continued to wear his signature smile that many gravitated toward in high school.
“He’s a tremendous young man,” Blackwell said. “He’s a dot the i’s and cross the t’s kind of guy. He has a big smile on his face and shows up with a great attitude.”
