FEATURES

After coming in to pinch run for her teammate, Jada Dotson is posed and ready to score. Her team is down after giving up six runs to rival Missouri in the fifth. The crowd is on the edge of its seats. After a booming hit from home plate, Dotson, a former runner for her high school’s state championship track team, used her speed to score and put the game back into contention.

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“When I come into the game, the very first thing I think to myself is “It’s go time.”’, Dotson said. “When I come in to run, I know it’s a situation where I need to score. I feel like I have a lot going through my head such as the amount of outs, knowing the play call and knowing where the defenders are.”

The freshman, a first-generation Razorback from White House, Tennessee, knows a lot about dealing with pressure.

Dotson is the daughter and sister of two former athletes. Her father is DeWayne Dotson, who made it to the NFL. DeWayne played linebacker and fullback at the University of Tennessee and the University of Mississippi. He was then selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth round of the 1994 NFL Draft. He was cut during training camp but was signed before the season by the Miami Dolphins, where he played until 1997. While spending most of his career as a backup, DeWayne made it to the pinnacle of his profession.

Her brother, J.D Dotson, is a senior at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. Following his father’s footsteps, J.D played linebacker for the Colonels and has received numerous awards and accolades.

There is a lot of stress for Dotson to live up to the expectations of her father and brother. The good news is that she doesn’t need to battle it alone.

Dotson’s dad wants to continue to push his daughter to raise the bar and do things that even he didn’t do.

“He wants me to excel like he did,” Dotson said. “He also wants me to surpass him. I can look at all the great things that he did and my brother did, and I try to fit into that equation too.”

Sports isn’t the only thing that brings the Dotson family together.

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 DeWayne and J.D both wore the number 33 and now Jada has chosen to be 33.

“For me it’s like carrying apart of them with me,” Dotson said. “I contribute a lot of my success to both of them so it’s like I’m giving back to them. My dad started a legacy with it and my brother continued it and it’s time for me to finish it.”

Even when her family is hours a part, Dotson always has her teammates right beside her. To them, she is just one of the girls.

“They don’t care where you come from,” Dotson said. “You are known as an Arkansas softball player. They know me as Jada and not DeWayne Dotson’s daughter.”

Even as Dotson continues her time in the diamond, she knows that it won’t last forever. That is why it is imperative to use school to prepare for the real world.

“I’m here for softball but there is the other side of it,” Dotson said. “I’m here to get an education. There is no NFL for softball and after these four years, I’m on my own. The pressure is on to succeed at softball, but you can’t let the other aspect fall.”

After graduation, Dotson plans to use her major to become a physical therapist.

Regardless of any stress Dotson is under during her time at Arkansas, she knows that it will help build her up, just like her father and brother.

“There are a lot of people who know who I am,” Dotson said. “The pressure is on to make sure you succeed and represent the Dotson name well. [I got to] represent myself well and this school.”

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More About Jada

Softball Stats:

5’6’’

1 At-Bat

4 Runs Scored

1 Stolen Base

Personal Info:

Kinesiology Major

4 Time State Champion in Travel Ball with the Tennessee Ballhawks

2 Time State Champion in Shot Put and 4x100m relay for Ensworth High School Track and Field

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