Kelly Holder has watched
Michael Dobson play football since rec league, and Holder says Dobson
has always been good.
“He was a good player all
the way through, but it wasn't until his freshman year of high school
that he really sold out to lifting and getting better,'' said Holder,
the head coach at Mount Airy High School. “He went from being a pretty
good athlete and pretty good football player to a really good player in
a short amount of time.''
Dobson got so good, so
fast that by the end of his freshman season he was given a starting
assignment during the state playoffs at outside linebacker for the
Bears.
“We were playing a team
that could really throw the ball well,'' Holder said. “So we wanted
somebody out there who could cover. He's been a starter ever since then.
Both ways.''
Dobson would become one of
the state's most productive players over the next three seasons.
Playing tailback on
offense, the 6-foot, 185-pounder ran 182 times for 1,378 yards and 15
touchdowns as a sophomore and 1,639 yards and 30 touchdowns on 153
carries as a junior.
Dobson topped all those
figures as a senior with 1,726 yards and 34 touchdowns on just 156
rushes. The senior performance was highlighted by a 229-yard,
four-touchdown effort in a game against Chatham Central.
Dobson also doubled as a
safety on defense where he made 71 tackles as a sophomore, 82 as a
junior and 35 as a senior. He snared 12 career interceptions.
Those numbers are part of
the reason East Carolina got involved recruiting Dobson in the spring of
2008. A scholarship offer soon followed the Pirates initial contact, but
ECU wasn't the only interested party. Duke also jumped aboard with an
offer in June and Hobson soon became impressed with first-year Blue
Devil head coach David Cutcliffe.
But when it came to
decision time on August 18, Hobson made a verbal commitment to the
Pirates.
“He was intrigued by the
Duke offer,'' Holder said. “He liked Cutcliffe and their new staff. But
there were too many positives for him at East Carolina.
“They had gotten on him
pretty early. His sister just graduated from ECU, and that helped out
quite a bit. Plus, he really likes the guy who recruited him at East
Carolina, Coach (Donnie) Kirkpatrick. He likes Coach (Skip) Holtz, too.
You can tell by what they did this year he made a good choice.''
Holder believes Dobson
could be used at running back or safety by the Pirates. Dobson, who has
4.4-second speed in the 40-yard dash, would prefer to play offense.
It'll be interesting to
see where he lands, especially in view of ECU getting commits from two
other running backs in Damonte Terry from Scotland County and
junior-college transfers Giavanni Ruffin.
“In the beginning they
wanted him as a running back,'' Holder said. “Mike would prefer running
back, but he really doesn't care.''
As a running back, Holder
calls Dobson “a glider.''
“He does a good job making
all the cuts at full speed,'' Holder said. “He's big and strong. He can
run away from you or he can lay a pop on you, too. He's got both
advantages.
"Even times this year when
it looked like we couldn't move the football very well, we'd just turn
around and hand it to him. You can do that with a player of his
caliber.''
Hobson has produced a
highlight reel of big plays for Mount Airy over the years, but there are
a couple Holder won't ever forget.
“When he was a sophomore,
we were playing Polk County and we had been leading the whole game,''
Holder said. “Then Polk County scored late to go ahead, and it was
third-and-something for us. He ran a counter for about 70 yards. It was
really the first time he made a great move and ran away from people.
That was huge for us because we ended up going to the state semifinals
that year.
“The next game he doesn't
carry the ball that much, maybe 10 or 15 times. Then he carried it about
20 times against South Stanly the following week and had quite a few
yards. So one game he showed his breakaway speed and the next game he
turns around and shows his toughness.''
The Pirates aren't just
getting a stellar football player in Dobson. Holder said he's also a
solid citizen and an excellent student who carries a 3.0 grade-point
average.
“He comes from a really
good family,'' Holder said. “When coaches came by to see him they all
got a kid who's well spoken, very respectful and dresses nice. He fits
the bill. All the coaches who met him all walked away impressed with the
way he presents himself.''
