The top 100 FSU football players: No. 49— wide receiver Lawrence Dawsey

Let’s start this entry off right with a clip of Lawrence Dawsey enjoying his favorite pastime: absolutely cooking the Florida Gators.

I started off with this play because it perfectly encapsulates the type of player Dawsey was. Relentless until the echo of the whistle, Dawsey was a coach’s dream. He gave 100% effort on every single play, whether he was being targeted or not, and always showed up when it mattered most. It was this mindset that elevated Dawsey from from a running back recruit out of Dothan, Alabama, to one of the greatest wide receivers to ever don garnet and gold.

Dawsey was an impact player fairly early in his college career despite being arguably under-utilized. As a Sophomore, the recently converted wide receiver would record just 18 receptions in seven games played. Pretty pedestrian, right? Well, nine of those catches were for touchdowns with a long of 93 yards.

Dawsey had emerged as a bonafide deep threat.

Obviously, Dawsey wouldn’t be able to sustain that incredible reception to touchdown ratio, but he elevated all other aspects of his game, leading to an All-American honorable mention in his third year.

Building off this success, It was Dawsey’s senior year that would go down as his most impressive. His 65 receptions for 999 yards was, at the time, good enough for 4th all-time in the school record books.

Dawsey also tacked on 7 touchdowns that year, including his most memorable play as a Seminole, this 76-yard score on FSU’s second play from scrimmage against the Gators.

Dawsey’s four catches for 172 yards that day lead the ’Noles to a 45-30 win over the Gators and possibly my favorite picture of all-time:

Dawsey’s last four games of that 1990 season might be the greatest four game stretch in Florida State history. His 553 yards and five touchdowns to end the season helped the senior earn first-team All-American honors.

Dawsey would be selected in the third-round by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and would go on to win Sports’ Illustrated’s NFL Rookie of the Year. He enjoyed a seven year NFL career before getting into coaching.

He would eventually return to his Alma Mater as FSU’s wide receivers coach where he won the national championship that eluded him in his playing days.

Dawsey is now the receivers coach for USF, but will forever be a ’Nole.