90 Days To K-State Football Countdown: Spotlight On Laton Dowling

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

For our next installment of the 100 day countdown to kickoff against North Dakota State University, 90 represents both the number of days we must wait and the number worn by Laton Dowling, one of the defensive linemen K-State will look to step up this season to replace the outgoing quartet of fiends that dominated the trenches for two straight years.

Dowling is an intriguing player that will be on the field in some shape or form, at the very least as a regular special teams contributor. A three-star athlete coming to K-State, he was a two-way player coming out of Dodge City as a tight end and linebacker. His production allowed him to be labeled the #10 athlete coming out of Kansas in 2010, although he was recruited as a weakside defensive end where Rivals rated him #47 in the nation.

Dowling was a highly desired player in the region, with interest from Air Force, Iowa State, KU, Nebraska, and Stanford, among others. However, he was solidly in K-State’s camp the summer before his senior year. He has since added 20 pounds and is up to 254 pounds. Combined with his 6’3″ frame, he appears ready to be a solid contributor in 2013.

Dowling is a redshirt junior who spent time watching the past two years watching two players now on NFL squads – Meshak Williams (Baltimore Ravens) and Adam Davis (New England Patriots). He will now be competing with senior Alauna Finau and junior Ryan Mueller. Mueller is a likely starter, but Finau saw little time on the field last year after transferring from Cerritos College (although he did have significant production as a JUCO player).

Dowling played in the first eight games of 2011 in his freshman year as a reserve defensive end and continued seeing time last year as well (his special teams production consisted of three kick returns for 34 yards, for those of you with an interest in production from squib kicks). As with almost every position on defense, it’s impossible to predict how successful the defensive end position will be this year – particularly with two defensive tackles that must prove they can occupy the center of the offensive line. However, it’s a pretty sure bet that Dowling will be either starting or regularly rotating in in relief. Look for 1-2 sacks, 20+ tackles, and multiple radio mentions his junior year.

To work backward in the countdown, visit 91 days, where we examine the two year contributions of Arthur Brown.