Tenderhearted Tackle

When Dion Dawkins, CLA ’17, then a Temple football player, got frustrated with some sluggish high schoolers who were participating in a Temple football camp, his offensive line coach pulled him aside. 

“That’s who you are every day,” he remembers Chris Wiesehan telling him. “I have to motivate you, stimulate you and engage you to do anything. You don’t know how to be a pro.” 

Momentarily stunned, the trajectory of Dawkins’ career shifted in an instant. He looked Wiesehan in the eye and said, “You will never have to have this conversation with me again.” 

Gridiron gearshift

Dawkins stuck to his promise. In 2015 and 2016, Dawkins and his close friend Haason Reddick, CLA ’17—now a defensive star on the Philadelphia Eagles—led the team to win 10 games and the American Athletic Conference championship. 

Today, as the Buffalo Bills offensive left tackle, the 6-foot-5, 320-pound 2021 Pro Bowl selection stars on one of the National Football League’s (NFL) best teams. He is playing on a four-year, $60 million contract—money he earns protecting standout quarterback Josh Allen’s blind side. 

“Playing here in Buffalo has shown me what it’s really like to be loved for what I do in my life, playing football and entertaining people,” he said. “Before every game, I take a knee at the 50-yard line and say ‘thank you’ for all of it.”  

Dawkins figured he would become a New Jersey state trooper, like one of his uncles, if football didn’t pan out. So, he majored in sociology—and graduated in four years. “An endless line of people, both teachers and academic advisors, helped me,” he said. Among his academic supporters was Jennifer Kim, a sociology instructor who dedicated a lot of extra time outside of class to help Dawkins when he started struggling with the material. 

Going for extra points 

Dawkins is immensely grateful that he was able to achieve his NFL dreams and, as a result, he has dedicated himself to giving back. “I’m thankful that I have three beautiful children, a beautiful girlfriend, Daiyaana Muhammad, and a beautiful family. If I can bring joy, smiles and hugs to anyone who needs it, I’m gonna do it every time,” he said. 

His nonprofit foundation, Dion’s Dreamers, provides advocacy, mentorship and support for vulnerable children, young adults and families. Initially, the foundation helped children pursue their interests, like lessons for aspiring guitar players and singers. Since the pandemic began, it has also provided clothing, food, and hygienic products. 

Last May, Dawkins was among the Bills who responded after a white racist fatally shot 10 people and injured three others—mostly Black—in an East Buffalo supermarket. Determined to support the community during this painful time, he returned repeatedly to the neighborhood on his days off, raised money for the victims’ families and met with local teachers. 

In December, the Bills nominated Dawkins for the NFL’s Walter Peyton Man of the Year Award for excellence both on and off the field. “It’s truly an honor,” he said. “Because it’s not for being an athlete or for the money I have, it’s for being a good person, and you can’t fake or buy that.” 

Truly Temple Made 

Several years ago, Dawkins called Wiesehan. “Coach, thank you again,” Dawkins said. “Every time I walk in this room in Buffalo, I think of all the things that you told me, about stacking plays and stacking days.” 

Recounting the conversation with the Buffalo News, Dawkins added, “I’m Temple proud. I never forget where I came from. Temple is me, and I am Temple.”