Dante Dowdell brings 'God-given ability' to Kentucky backfield while Seth McGowan is 'a complete player'

A 13-year-old named Carter called into the first Mark Stoops Show of the 2025 season with one observation, wanting to make sure he and the Kentucky head football coach were on the same page.

“I had a question about Dante Dowdell,” he said. “How’s he been doing in practice so far? Statistic-wise, he was probably a top-10 running back last year and I was wondering if that would carry over to the SEC based on practice so far.”

“You’re pretty dialed in,” Stoops responded.

Carter, of course, is referring to the Nebraska transfer who started his career at Oregon, a former consensus four-star recruit out of Picayune, Mississippi who finished ranked No. 139 overall in the Rivals Industry Ranking. Dowdell ran for 90 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries as a freshman in Eugene, then racked up 614 yards and 12 touchdowns on 143 attempts as a sophomore in Lincoln.

What should be expected of the junior back in Lexington? The sky is the limit, says Stoops.

“Dante has done a very good job. I’m very high on him,” he told the 13-year-old caller Monday evening. “He’s a very big running back, very strong, but he has better vision than you would think. Some of the big guys are just guys that pile in there and all that, but Dante has very good feet and good vision. I hope it translates — football’s football.”

The 6-2, 227-pound back is a guy who looks the part walking off the bus, built like a hard-hitting linebacker, not a ball-carrier. His size only tells half the story, though — because he’s got some juice to him, too.

“You stand up next to him and he’s a big, big dude. He’s a big human,” Stoops continued. “Then he gets to that second level and he has another gear.”

The running back position can be tricky because you can be the biggest and toughest or fastest with home-run potential, but the physical attributes don’t always translate. Being able to read a defense and think two or three steps ahead is half the battle, no matter how good the coaching is or how gifted they are athletically.

You either have that it factor or you don’t, and Dowdell has it.

“With running backs, you can kind of point them in the right direction and give them a lot of good coaching, but sometimes it’s just between them and God — it’s God-given ability,” Stoops said. “Sometimes you just gotta turn them loose, and Dante is like that. Once the lights come on in a game, he really takes it up another level. I’m excited to watch him.”

Stoops was asked specifically about Dowdell and his potential impact, but there is an “or” on the depth chart at the top of the running back position for a reason. Kentucky’s got a real talent next to the Nebraska transfer, too, and he goes by the name of Seth McGowan.

A former four-star, top-200 recruit in his own right out of high school with stops at Oklahoma, Butler (Kansas) Community College and New Mexico State, the 6-1, 215-pound playmaker is dynamic as a rusher and receiver. Last season at NMSU, he rushed for 823 yards and three touchdowns while adding 277 yards and three scores through the air.

Stoops is thrilled to have them both in the backfield as 1A and 1B options.

“They’re both very physical runners,” Stoops said of the incoming transfer duo. “Dante is a very big person and has better vision than you’d expect for a big guy. He has very good feet, good vision, plays very physical. Seth is another one, he’s a complete player. They both are good out of the backfield. They both have a lot of experience, Seth is a threat catching the ball. I like what I’m seeing from those two.”

The new-look RB room in Lexington appears to be a major strength for Kentucky ahead of the season opener.