Greg Dotson’s ebullient personality is infectious for Hammond Central.
Through the highs and especially the lows, Dotson lifts up the Wolves.
“He’s a leader,” junior linebacker Giovani Bailey-Hannah said. “He really holds this team together when negativity comes. He does a great job with that.”
For Dotson, the lone junior among Hammond Central’s four team captains, the perspective is simple.
“It’s just being positive,” he said. “It’s just being blessed to be out here able to play football Friday nights. It’s being in the moment and not taking anything for granted.
“There’s some kids out there who are injured and can’t even play this whole season. They have to do recovery. I’m just blessed to even be on the field.”
And the 5-foot-10, 185-pound Dotson lines up all over the field, rarely leaving it.
Primarily a wide receiver, he leads the Wolves (5-4) with 18 catches for 230 yards and a touchdown.
He also plays linebacker and has 13 tackles.
He has three carries for 33 yards.
A quarterback through middle school, Dotson has even completed 7 of 8 passes for 73 yards and a TD.
And he’s part of every special teams unit. He’s the holder on placekicks and the personal protector for the punt team.
“He’s a jack-of-all-trades kind of player,” Hammond Central coach Adam Hudak said. “He’s a great team-culture kind of player.
“He knows the game. He knows the playbook inside and out. He’s definitely a program kid. He’s been with me since day one. He’s just a good kid to have on the field at all times.”
Dotson has impressed Bailey-Hannah.
“He’s just an all-around player for us, for everybody,” Bailey-Hannah said. “You can play him anywhere, and he does it right and gets the job done.”
Dotson takes it all in stride. He got limited varsity reps in his first two seasons, including missing the last month of his freshman season with a broken left thumb suffered in practice.
So he has embraced his first opportunity at extended playing time.
More Top Picks Best Nas For Home
“I’m doing whatever Hudak wants me to play,” Dotson said. “It’s about the team. It’s not only worrying about yourself.”
Dotson’s attitude came to the forefront during Hammond Central’s 56-3 regular-season loss to rival Morton (5-4), its opponent in a Class 5A sectional semifinal on Friday. He remained focused to have a career game, making eight catches for 110 yards.
“I was just not being negative,” Dotson said. “I knew if the ball was coming my way, I had to catch it and make a play for my team. I was trying to show everybody just because you’re down a lot doesn’t mean you can’t work on your craft. I learned a lot from that game.”
Dotson said he believes the Wolves will be competitive in the rematch with Morton and have a chance to pull off an upset.
He has already tasted significant postseason success in basketball. He spent last season on junior varsity as Hammond Central’s boys basketball team reached a Class 4A semistate semifinal.
While acknowledging the different circumstances in football, Dotson isn’t conceding.
“We’re the underdogs,” he said. “Nobody expects us to win. But we just have to go out there and play. Everybody’s doing their job and not playing selfish. We’re playing together as a team. No negativity.”