Louisville football freshman shows off incredible athleticism

Jared Dawson is a future freak for Louisville football.

During the downtime of COVID-19 shutdowns, Louisville football fans are looking for any reason to get excited about the season.

Though Cardinals players are not yet able to be on campus, plenty of guys have been posting videos of their workouts as they prepare for the season and stay in shape any way they can.

For Louisville incoming freshman Jared Dawson, he is able to work out at a gym in his hometown of Collierville, Tennessee, and a post on Monday night shows just how freakish of an athlete the future Cardinal is.

At 285 pounds, the defensive tackle is able to climb the ladder and nearly successfully land on top of five feet of pads. Take a look:

https://twitter.com/Teamshabazz9/status/1265055894456451073?s=20

Dawson, who fits well in the middle in Louisville’s 3-4 defensive scheme has quietly gone under the radar for Cardinals fans. During the spring, much was made of new freshman defensive tackle Henry Bryant, who Scott Satterfield praised as a standout player on multiple occasions.

Based on that assessment alone, many probably placed Bryant higher on the register of their mental depth charts. If the season started today, Bryant would likely be pushing presumptive starter Jared Goldwire for playing time.

Related: Three realistic predictions for Louisville’s defense in 2020

However, don’t count out Dawson, who received high remarks in college for his high motor and excellent football IQ. Dawson received scholarship offers from schools like Howard, Army, Navy, and Air Force.

Here’s what Barton Simmons of 247Sports had to say about Dawson:

"Stout, powerful frame without much excessive body mass. Has upside to get bigger and stronger. Wrestling background has kept him lean. Has really good body quickness and suddenness off the snap. Physicality is evident. Wildly productive for an interior defender. Wins with quickness and looks best served as a penetrating, attacking defender. Size and length could limit his upside and he may have issues at the point of attack with bigger offensive linemen at the next level. Has some scheme limitations. Disciplined, high-academic profile (he has a brother at West Point) hints at low probability to bust. Looks like a definite impact Power Five defender that has NFL Draft potential with the right physical development."

Louisville is working on developing its defensive line to not only be more disruptive in the pass rush and run game but to build up talented depth.

Adding Dawson as a freak of nature who can get 285 pounds of weight 60 inches in the air is not too bad of a start.

Louisville football has to make significant improvements on defense to continue its upward trajectory in 2020. The best way to begin doing that is to add new pieces to the equation, and Dawson seems like an impressive instant-impact guy.