Clemson’s Shaq Lawson and Kevin Dodd take similar path to NFL draft

The road to Chicago, where 25 of the nation’s top college football players are this week to hear their names called in the 2016 NFL draft, has followed a similar path for Clemson’s Shaq Lawson and Kevin Dodd.

The young men grew up in Upstate South Carolina: Lawson in Central, Dodd in Taylors. Both spent a year at the same prep school, Hargrave Military Academy, before enrolling at Clemson. They developed as subs until this past season, when they broke out to become the two most productive defensive ends in the entire Football Bowl Subdivision.

On Thursday, Lawson and Dodd could once again take a parallel step forward in their careers, They have a chance to be first-round draft picks.

There have been differences in the two players’ journeys to play professional football. Lawson, who turns 22 in June, spent three years at Clemson; Dodd, who turns 24 in July, spent four years at Clemson. Lawson was already a well-known draft prospect going into his junior season while Dodd, a redshirt junior, emerged from obscurity. And both players have had to overcome their own challenges from before their time at Clemson to get where they are today.

The players are ready to take the next step, a step that could take them far away from South Carolina, where both have lived for nearly all of their lives.

“Both of them are prepared,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “They have the tools that they need to go be successful on and off the field.”

UPSTATE BEGINNINGS

Before Clemson, Lawson was a star on both the football field and the basketball court for D.W. Daniel High School. Randy Robinson, Lawson’s football coach at Daniel, said it was evident early that Lawson had pro potential.

“You just don’t see big guys like him that have the explosive first step,” Robinson said.

Lawson didn’t always have the work ethic he needed to be a great player — “He was the best at dodging the weight room when we got him,” Robinson said — but developed it over time.

“He’s got a smile on his face and he’s always laughing, he’s one of the nicest kids you’ll ever meet but he certainly got more serious about the things that are important,” Robinson said.

During his junior year of high school, Lawson’s life changed when his father was killed in a wreck, thrusting Lawson into a more active role taking care of his siblings. Lawson is motivated that playing in the NFL can enable him to buy a house for his mother and provide more for his family.

“I truly miss my dad … He made me the man I am right now,” Lawson said. “He taught me never to stay satisfied, always get better.”

Dodd, like Lawson, was a two-sport star in high school. As a thrower on the track and field team, Dodd set Riverside High records in the shot put and discus. Dodd’s physical gifts also stood out on the football field, according to Steve Eoute, who coached Dodd at Riverside.

“He was just head and shoulders above everybody else,” Eoute said.

Like Lawson, Dodd had growing up to do before he could take full advantage of his physical abilities.

“He was always kind of shy and withdrawn, and now he’s kind of coming out of that shell, and you’re able to see more of who he is,” Eoute said.

Clemson is just a 10-minute drive away from Daniel and less than an hour away from Riverside. No matter what teams they are drafted by, Dodd and Lawson will be much farther away from home. But Dodd says he is “ready for a change,” and Lawson is, too.

THE DETOUR

The road for Lawson and Dodd to Clemson from their local high schools was not direct. Unable to qualify academically out of high school, Dodd and Lawson each spent a year at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va.

Like their high school coaches, Hargrave coach Troy Davis immediately saw pro potential in both players.

“Shaq, just his explosive and his quickness, and just how impressive he was and athletic he was, I knew he had so much upside to him,” said Davis, who coached many future NFL players at Hargrave. “Shaq was a little bit ahead of Kevin as far as speed-wise, but Kevin also had the upside potential because he was just so raw and still learning the game.”

While neither Lawson nor Dodd wanted to be at Hargrave — Lawson, according to Swinney, was “literally in tears” when he found out he did not qualify at Clemson — the detour proved to be an important step toward getting where they are now.

“It’s hard on anybody to go to a military school,” Davis said. “I always preached to them that there will be an opportunity at the end, but just stay focused and everything will work out.”

THE NEXT LEVEL

Lawson began making a name for himself during his freshman and sophomore years at Clemson, in which he recorded 21.5 total tackles for loss despite coming off the bench as a rotational player. He emerged as a star in his final season when he recorded 25.5 tackles for loss — the highest total in the FBS — and played an integral part in the Tigers’ run to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.

"I’m going to be a player who’s an every-down player,” said Lawson, who has visited the Carolina Panthers, Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears and had private workouts with the San Francisco 49ers, Panthers and Detroit Lions, of his NFL prospects. “A player who’s going to make an impact.”

Dodd barely cracked the rotation during his first three years at Clemson, in which he played just 219 total snaps and recorded just three total tackles for loss. Yet he too played a key role in Clemson’s national championship game run, as he recorded 23.5 tackles for loss — the second-most in the FBS — including 8.5 in Clemson’s two College Football Playoff games alone.

As a result of their success this past season, Lawson and Dodd are both widely projected to be first-round picks.

Attending the draft with Lawson and Dodd will be Swinney, who has previously gone to the draft with Vic Beasley in 2015, Sammy Watkins in 2014 and C.J. Spiller in 2010. All three of those players were top-10 picks.

Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables and defensive ends coach Marion Hobby will also be in Chicago to support Dodd and Lawson.

“It’s a great moment to be a part of, because as coaches, you know where it started,” Swinney said. “These are two great young men, and I’m really looking forward to being a part of a special moment.”

This story was originally published April 27, 2016 at 3:40 PM with the headline "Clemson’s Shaq Lawson and Kevin Dodd take similar path to NFL draft."