Charleston recruit uses college football commitment to send a heartwarming message

Many high school football players relish the attention that comes with picking a college. They bask in it, sometimes drag it out and often cap the process with a fake-out or elaborate event on signing day.

Hanahan High School’s Cooper Dawson instead used it as a chance to deflect attention elsewhere.

When he announced his decision on Wednesday, he went to the traditional table covered in hats with a friend named Kingsley Feiman. After a short speech he let Feiman, who was in a wheelchair, announce his choice of Syracuse.

“I brought Kingsley out here today because he’s inspired me a lot through the torn ACL process,” Dawson said. “He taught me that the only disability is a bad attitude. And if he could come around every day with this big old smile on, I can do it just the same.

“I told Kingsley I’d announce it to him before I told everyone else.”

After Feiman revealed the team, Dawson placed a Orange hat on his head before putting on his own.

Dawson’s finalists were Syracuse, Clemson and Central Florida. For a long time, his offer from the Tigers was only a greyshirt, but late in the process, the Tigers coaches told him he could enroll in January.

But he decided to stick with the Orange, which had been recruiting him heavily throughout the process.

Dawson, who could play on either side of the ball but will play defense at Syracuse, is considered the No. 11 player in South Carolina and No. 674 player in the country by the 247Sports Composite rankings. The three-star prospect missed his senior season with the knee injury suffered in the summer.

This story was originally published December 19, 2018 at 11:27 AM.