Dakota Duran Dozier (born April 30, 1991) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

who is a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. He was selected by the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

in the fourth round of the

2014 NFL Draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Furman, where he was recognized as a unanimous All-American.

High school

Dozier attended

Brookland-Cayce High School Brookland-Cayce High School is a public high school located in Cayce, South Carolina, United States. History The school was built in 1932. Named for the cities of Brookland (now West Columbia) and Cayce which it originally served, the school no ...

Cayce, South Carolina Cayce ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, along the Congaree River. The population was 12,528 at the 2010 census and rose to 13,789 in the 2020 United States Census, and it is the third-most populated municipality in Lexington County ...

, where he played

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

, and

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

. He earned all-region, all-area, and all-state honors, while serving as captain and was named team MVP. He also won a region individual wrestling championship in his senior year. He was an unranked recruit by ''

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

''.

College career

Dozier attended

Furman University Furman University is a private liberal arts university in Greenville, South Carolina. Founded in 1826 and named for the clergyman Richard Furman, Furman University is the oldest private institution of higher learning in South Carolina. It became ...

, where he was a member of the

Furman Paladins football The Furman Paladins football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the Furman University located in the state of South Carolina. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) as members of t ...

team from 2009 to 2013. During his career, he started 44 games, all at

left tackle Tackle is a playing position in gridiron football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, o ...

, and was named an All-

SoCon The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly kn ...

selection for three consecutive seasons (second-team in 2011, first-team in 2012 and 2013). He was twice named an FCS

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

, including being named a unanimous All-American in 2013, making him only the seventh unanimous All-American in school history.

Professional career

New York Jets

Dozier was selected by the

in the fourth round (137th overall) of the

. In 2017, Dozier played in 14 games, starting three at right guard in place of the injured

Brian Winters Brian Joseph Winters (born March 1, 1952) is an American former basketball player and coach. Career Winters attended academic and athletic powerhouse Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens, New York, graduating in 1970. He then played collegia ...

. On April 6, 2018, Dozier re-signed with the Jets.

Minnesota Vikings

On April 4, 2019, Dozier signed with the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

, being reunited with his 2018 position coach with the Jets,

Rick Dennison Rick Steven Dennison (born June 22, 1958) is an American football coach and former player. He most recently was the senior offensive advisor for the Minnesota Vikings. He was the offensive line coach and Position coach, run game coordinator fo ...

. On March 30, 2020, Dozier re-signed with the Vikings. He started all 16 games at left guard for the Vikings in 2020. On March 30, 2021, Dozier re-signed with the Vikings. He was released on August 31, 2021 and re-signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on December 21.

Chicago Bears

On March 23, 2022, Dozier signed a one year deal with the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

. On June 21, 2022, Dozier was placed on injured reserve a week after suffering an apparent left leg injury during a minicamp practice.

References

External links

*
Furman Paladins bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dozier, Dakota 1991 births Living people Players of American football from South Carolina People from West Columbia, South Carolina American football offensive guards American football offensive tackles Furman Paladins football players New York Jets players Minnesota Vikings players Chicago Bears players