Kevin Dotson deserved to be at the Combine this year. The Pittsburgh Steelers sure thought so, voting for him to receive Indy’s invite. But he didn’t, widely considered one of this classes’ biggest snubs and that thought isn’t lost on Dotson.
In a KDKA conversation with Richie Walsh and Bob Pompeani along with new teammate Chase Claypool, Dotson said he used that snub as fuel during the pre-draft process.
“It kinda motivates me to know, me putting my hard work in actually does pay off,” Dotson said. “I didn’t get invited to the Combine but it kinda motivated me in my workouts. It got me to finish reps. If I would’ve been thinking about not doing a rep, I could say in my mind, you need to finish this rep because you know what, you didn’t get invited. So there’s always been a big chip on my shoulder.”
He was the first non-Combine player drafted in the 2020 class. He’s also the second highest non-Combine selection in Kevin Colbert’s history. As we wrote about weeks ago, Dotson is in good company; the only higher selection is fellow Rajun Cajun Ike Taylor. That pick turned out pretty well, I’d say.
Dotson’s been the underdog for most of his football career. Rivals rated him as just a two-star recruit out of high school. His only offers were to non Power 5 schools; Louisiana Tech, Southern Miss, Tulane, and of course, UL-Lafayette.
Though the Associated Press showed him love by naming him a 1st Team All-American, it wasn’t enough to get him the nod to Indy. Dotson has to be on a short list for guys to receive that honor and no invite.
But as the Steelers like to say, they don’t care how you got here. All that matters is that he’s in Pittsburgh and ready to prove the team’s investment. He’ll compete with Matt Feiler and Stefen Wisniewski at left guard. Never playing there in college, Dotson will have an uphill climb this summer.
