Clifton Dawson
Encyclopedia
Clifton George Dawson is a Canadian gridiron football
running back
who is currently a free agent
in the National Football League
. He was signed by the Indianapolis Colts
as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football
at Harvard.
Dawson has also been a member of the Cincinnati Bengals
and Houston Texans
.
in Toronto
, Canada and was a good student and a letterman in football and track. In football, as a senior, he led his team to the Toronto City Championship, was named as the team's Most Valuable Player, and was an All-Canada selection.
before opting to transfer to Harvard University
.
During his freshman season at Harvard, he was unanimously selected for the first team All-Ivy League, making him the first offensive player in Ivy League history to earn first team honors as a freshman. Dawson set the league’s single-season record for rushing yards by a freshman with 1,187 yards and became the first freshman in Ivy League history to rush for more than 1,000 yards. Dawson fumbled just once in 215 carries.
During his sophomore season, he was again named a unanimous first team All-America selection and was named to the New England Football Writers All-New England team. He placed tenth in the balloting for the Walter Payton Award
, which is given to the top player in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision. He led the Ivy League in rushing, with and average of 130.2 yards per game, making him the highest-ranking sophomore in Division I-AA and one of just three sophomores among the nation’s top 25 rushers. He set Harvard’s single-season records for rushing yards (1,302), rushing touchdowns (17), total touchdowns (18) and points (108). He rushed for at least 100 yards in seven of the ten games with the Harvard Crimson.
In his junior season, Dawson was again a unanimous first team All-Ivy League selection and named to the New England Football Writers All-New England. He attained a total of 1,139 yards in the season. He rushed for at least 100 yards in seven of Harvard’s ten games. He ended the season by scoring the historic game-winning touchdown in the third overtime period of Harvard’s 30-24 win against Yale.
In his senior season, Dawson became the all-time Ivy League
career rushing
leader, with 4,841 yards. Dawson earned this title on November 11, 2006 while playing Penn with a 55-yard run down the left sideline on his second carry of that game. In attaining this title, Dawson broke the long-standing record set by Ed Marinaro
of Cornell in 1971. In addition to this record, Dawson finished his Harvard career as the Ivy League record holder for rushing touchdowns (60), career touchdowns (66), career points (398), and career all-purpose yards (6,138). He broke every career rushing and scoring record that Harvard keeps and became the only offensive player in Ivy League history to be named a first team All-Ivy selection four times. He was the ninth NCAA Division I player to rush for at least 1,000 yards in a season four times. He won the Boston Globe Gold Helmet Award, recognizing the top season-long performance by an FCS player in New England, and finished ninth in the voting for the Walter Payton Award
. Dawson led the Division I FCS in scoring (13.20 points per game). He finished his career ranked 16th in NCAA FCS history in rushing and tied for fifth in career rushing touchdowns and fifth in career points.
Dawson also ran track
and majored in Economics while at Harvard.
, Dawson was drafted in the sixth round of the 2006 Canadian Football League Draft
by the Toronto Argonauts
.
after the conclusion of the draft. He was one of the team's final cuts.
. He made his NFL debut on September 16, 2007. He played in two games with the Bengals and then, on September 25, he was released.
Dawson was re-signed by the Colts on October 14, 2008. He was released on March 22, 2009.
on August 3. He was released with an injury settlement on August 7.
Gridiron football
Gridiron football , sometimes known as North American football, is an umbrella term for related codes of football primarily played in the United States and Canada. The predominant forms of gridiron football are American football and Canadian football...
running back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
who is currently a free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. He was signed by the Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at Harvard.
Dawson has also been a member of the Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...
and Houston Texans
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
.
Early years
Dawson attended Birchmount Park Collegiate InstituteBirchmount Park Collegiate Institute
Birchmount Park Collegiate Institute is a high school located in Scarborough, a part of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It operates under the Toronto District School Board...
in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Canada and was a good student and a letterman in football and track. In football, as a senior, he led his team to the Toronto City Championship, was named as the team's Most Valuable Player, and was an All-Canada selection.
College career
Dawson briefly attended Northwestern UniversityNorthwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
before opting to transfer to Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
.
During his freshman season at Harvard, he was unanimously selected for the first team All-Ivy League, making him the first offensive player in Ivy League history to earn first team honors as a freshman. Dawson set the league’s single-season record for rushing yards by a freshman with 1,187 yards and became the first freshman in Ivy League history to rush for more than 1,000 yards. Dawson fumbled just once in 215 carries.
During his sophomore season, he was again named a unanimous first team All-America selection and was named to the New England Football Writers All-New England team. He placed tenth in the balloting for the Walter Payton Award
Walter Payton Award
The Walter Payton Award is awarded annually to the most outstanding offensive player in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision of college football as chosen by a nationwide panel of media and college sports information directors...
, which is given to the top player in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision. He led the Ivy League in rushing, with and average of 130.2 yards per game, making him the highest-ranking sophomore in Division I-AA and one of just three sophomores among the nation’s top 25 rushers. He set Harvard’s single-season records for rushing yards (1,302), rushing touchdowns (17), total touchdowns (18) and points (108). He rushed for at least 100 yards in seven of the ten games with the Harvard Crimson.
In his junior season, Dawson was again a unanimous first team All-Ivy League selection and named to the New England Football Writers All-New England. He attained a total of 1,139 yards in the season. He rushed for at least 100 yards in seven of Harvard’s ten games. He ended the season by scoring the historic game-winning touchdown in the third overtime period of Harvard’s 30-24 win against Yale.
In his senior season, Dawson became the all-time Ivy League
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...
career rushing
Rush (American football)
Rushing has two different meanings in gridiron football .-Offense:The first is an action taken by the offensive team that means to advance the ball by running, as opposed to passing. A run is technically any play that does not involve a forward pass...
leader, with 4,841 yards. Dawson earned this title on November 11, 2006 while playing Penn with a 55-yard run down the left sideline on his second carry of that game. In attaining this title, Dawson broke the long-standing record set by Ed Marinaro
Ed Marinaro
Ed Marinaro is an American former football player turned actor.-Football career:Marinaro played high school football in New Milford, New Jersey, for the New Milford High School Knights....
of Cornell in 1971. In addition to this record, Dawson finished his Harvard career as the Ivy League record holder for rushing touchdowns (60), career touchdowns (66), career points (398), and career all-purpose yards (6,138). He broke every career rushing and scoring record that Harvard keeps and became the only offensive player in Ivy League history to be named a first team All-Ivy selection four times. He was the ninth NCAA Division I player to rush for at least 1,000 yards in a season four times. He won the Boston Globe Gold Helmet Award, recognizing the top season-long performance by an FCS player in New England, and finished ninth in the voting for the Walter Payton Award
Walter Payton Award
The Walter Payton Award is awarded annually to the most outstanding offensive player in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision of college football as chosen by a nationwide panel of media and college sports information directors...
. Dawson led the Division I FCS in scoring (13.20 points per game). He finished his career ranked 16th in NCAA FCS history in rushing and tied for fifth in career rushing touchdowns and fifth in career points.
Dawson also ran track
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
and majored in Economics while at Harvard.
Toronto Argonauts
Though he was not selected during the 2007 NFL Draft2007 NFL Draft
The 2007 National Football League Draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 28 and April 29, 2007. The draft was televised for the 28th consecutive year on ESPN and ESPN2. The NFL Network also broadcast coverage of the event, its second year doing so...
, Dawson was drafted in the sixth round of the 2006 Canadian Football League Draft
2006 CFL Draft
The 2006 CFL Draft:-Round one:-Round two:-Round Three:-Round Four:-Round Five:-Round Six: -Further reading:*...
by the Toronto Argonauts
Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...
.
First stint with Colts
He was signed as a free agent by the Indianapolis ColtsIndianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
after the conclusion of the draft. He was one of the team's final cuts.
Cincinnati Bengals
Dawson subsequently signed with the Cincinnati BengalsCincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...
. He made his NFL debut on September 16, 2007. He played in two games with the Bengals and then, on September 25, he was released.
Second stint with Colts
Two days later, Dawson was re-signed by the Colts. Dawson played in eleven games with Colts during the 2007-08 season and remained with the team during the 2008 off-season and training camp. The Colts waived him near the end of the 2008 training camp, but re-signed him the next day. However, he was released again before the final preseason game.Dawson was re-signed by the Colts on October 14, 2008. He was released on March 22, 2009.
Houston Texans
Dawson signed with the Texans on May 19, 2009. He was placed on season-ending injured reserveInjured reserve
The injured reserve list is a list of reserved players who are injured and unable to play for a period of time, used most prominently in the National Hockey League and National Football League . It is used because these leagues have a maximum number of players on the team roster, so placing a...
on August 3. He was released with an injury settlement on August 7.