The Rules of Dawdy: How Derby’s first-year starting QB found success

This all very well could have been overwhelming for a different quarterback, but in truth, Dan Dawdy has prepared his whole career for this.

Who would envy trying to replace an Eagle Top 11 quarterback who led Derby to a Class 6A championship? Not only does Dawdy have to follow that, but he is expected to lead the Panthers back to the title game and win again.

Derby coach Brandon Clark suspects there are few 18-year-olds who could handle the pressure and perform as admirably as Dawdy, who has kept Derby (5-0) atop the state rankings and its offense humming along to the tune of 47.4 points per game — and that’s even missing an entire half from a weather-shortened game.

There’s nothing astonishing about the way Dawdy goes about his business. He doesn’t have the frame (5-foot-11, 180 pounds) of a major-college quarterback, he doesn’t run a 4.5-second 40-yard dash, and he doesn’t have a cannon for an arm.

So why has every offense Dawdy commanded been so spectacular?

It’s a simple code he lives by when it comes to football, which those close to him credit for his success.

Call it the Rules of Dawdy.

No. 1: Always be prepared

For three years, Dawdy was a backup quarterback for Derby.

He didn’t receive many repetitions in practice and saw the field on Friday nights sparingly, so Dawdy had to sharpen his mental skills to stay game-ready. He carries Derby’s weekly game plan with him during school and whenever there’s down time, he’s crunching numbers, studying tendencies, and visualizing situations that could happen on Friday.

“I always knew I was one snap away,” Dawdy said.

When he was a sophomore, Dawdy was thrown into a game in the first half against Salina South when the starter was injured. When his number was called, Dawdy was ready — he led Derby to a 45-14 win.

“The experience was good for him, but Dan is the type of the kid who was going to be locked in no matter what,” Clark said. “If he just stepped in for the first time with only experience on the JV field, I would still feel 100-percent confident in him because he prepares himself so well.”

No. 2: Be a film freak

The only thing Dawdy might love more than playing football is studying football.

“It’s fascinating to me understanding all of the different kinds of plays you can run against certain defenses and coverages,” Dawdy said. “That kind of stuff has always interested me, like how to scheme up a defense.”

Not only can Dawdy tell you where every player is supposed to line up on any given play, he comprehends the reason behind it.

When he approaches the line, Dawdy takes a mental snapshot of the defense and is able to instantly analyze it. What front are they in? Where is the free safety leaning? Are they tipping a blitz?

After he makes these initial reads, he usually has a good idea of where he is going with the ball.

“I’m always going to take what the defense gives me,” Dawdy said. “They can’t double cover all four of my receivers and I like all of them in one-on-one matchups. I trust all of them to get open. So if they want to double cover someone, then that just means someone else is going to be open.”

So far the numbers back up the claim: Heading into Friday’s game, Dawdy completed 62 percent of his passes for 917 yards and 12 touchdowns, while Derby’s offense is churning out nearly seven touchdowns and 400 yards per game.

No. 3: Stay calm

Dawdy is also fascinated with the mental side of football and has attended clinics on leadership.

“If you’re going to be a leader, you’ve got to stay calm,” Dawdy said. “As soon as you become frantic, everyone else picks up on that and they start to panic too.”

Clark has been impressed with Dawdy’s command since he took over starting duties this summer.

“When he’s on the field, he’s in charge of the offense,” Clark said. “He wants to be the leader and the kids respond the right way to him. You can’t get underneath his skin, he stays calm, cool, and collected. He’s just a natural-born leader.”

His father insists it’s not as effortless as Dan makes it look.

“He’s kind of like the duck in water,” David Dawdy said. “Cool and calm on top of the water, but underneath he’s paddling like hell.”

No. 4: Stay humble

Ask Dawdy why he thinks he has been successful this season and his answer includes everyone but himself.

He begins listing his offensive line — Evan Clark, Gage Jones, Jordan Renard, Riley King, and Brady Walls — then credits his coaches before raving about how it is any quarterback’s dream to play in an offense with a tailback like Brody Kooser and talented receivers like Kenyon Tabor, Michael Littleton, Kai Lemons, Jack Taylor, and Lachlan Jones.

“He knows he has weapons all around him and it’s his job to take care of the ball and make the correct read,” Clark said. “He’s very selfless. He’s not out there to get his stats and look good. We always tell our kids to stay humble, but stay hungry. Dan is that guy. He’s always been that guy.”

He deflects any credit given for Derby’s undefeated start, insisting he isn’t close to where he wants to be.

“There are always things you can clean up,” Dawdy said. “Reading things faster, taking care of the ball better. I can always improve and that’s what we’re going to keep working at.”

No. 5: Have fun

No one takes football more serious than Dawdy, but he also knows when to crack a joke to keep the mood light.

“You never want to be too tense because then you lose your ability to make plays,” Dawdy said. “So I try to keep everyone relaxed.”

Last year when Dawdy was still a backup, he made a “highlight” film of himself holding snaps on extra-point attempts. Every Monday during Derby’s special-teams meeting, Dawdy would have teammates and coaches critique everything from his holding form to his handshakes and celebrations with the kicker.

“He makes us laugh all the time,” Clark said. “When he’s out there on the field, he knows when to get locked in. But there’s also a side of Dan that’s a lot of fun to be around. He’s just a hilarious kid.”

No. 6: No cell phones

The 18-year-old starting quarterback for the No. 1 team in Kansas doesn’t have a cell phone.

“We’ve given him everything he needs, but not necessarily everything he wants,” David Dawdy said. “I just feel like there are so many distractions out there, he doesn’t need any of that. We wanted to teach our kids discipline and not having everything at a moment’s notice. That’s just what we feel like is best and that’s just kind of how we roll.”

Dan pushes back occasionally, but is able to stay in contact with friends through his Twitter account and the Dawdys also have a family cell phone he can use when he needs it.

Then again, Dan Dawdy has never been one for flashy things.

He’ll just keep going on about his business with his own code.

“It’s actually kind of nice to not have to worry about texting people back all the time and be bothered by that kind of stuff,” Dawdy said. “It definitely has its advantages and disadvantages, but it works and it keeps me focused on what I need to do.”

This story was originally published October 7, 2016 at 11:58 AM with the headline "The Rules of Dawdy: How Derby’s first-year starting QB found success."