Greeley – It has been a disappointing season at Northern Colorado, but it hasn’t been all bad news for the Bears.
UNC (3-4, 0-2 Great West Football Conference) plays at North Dakota State (5-3, 1-2) on Saturday as it completes the transition from Division II to Division I-AA and next year’s move to the Big Sky Conference. But the Bears’ star defender appears headed for the big time.
Reed Doughty, a 6-foot-1, 210-pound senior safety from Roosevelt (Johnstown) High School, leads the nation in tackles (14.9 per game). He is among 16 finalists for the Buck Buchanan Award, presented annually to the top defender in Division I-AA football.
A 4.0 student, Doughty also is one of 16 finalists for the Draddy Trophy and its $18,000 postgraduate scholarship, which goes to the nation’s best football scholar-athlete.
Doughty’s coach, Kay Dalton, also expects him to be selected in the NFL draft next year.
“He’s definitely a pro prospect,” said Dalton, who coached in the NFL for several years. “He’s a stud, that kid. A heck of a football player, and he’s had a great year. He has a great ability to see the play quickly because he’s so smart. Somebody might think he’s about a step slow because he’s about a 4.6 guy, but he can out-think most of them.
“He’s got to stay at safety, but he’ll be good in the pros because he can play special teams. He can earn his living playing special teams while he’s learning how to play strong safety.”
A four-year starter, Doughty has had his eye on the NFL for about as long as he can remember, but he wouldn’t mind taking an award along with him.
“They’re both very prestigious awards, so I’m just honored to be one of those 16,” he said of the Buchanan and Draddy honors. “It’d be a tremendous honor to win either one.”
But for now, nothing could make him happier than a strong finish to his career.
“We’ve got four games left, and I’d like to finish my career with a winning season,” Doughty said. “They’re a good, physical team, still ranked in the top 25, but we’ve had some success against them, so it should be a good game. I’m sure they watched the Portland State film and saw how they ran the ball on us, so I’m expecting a lot of runs.”
The best part of playing safety, Doughty said, is making game-changing plays.
“It’s like linebacker and corner mixed together,” he said. “I love making tackles, but there’s nothing more exciting than making a game-changing play, like an interception or a fumble recovery. It’s the best of both worlds.”
With defensive ends Mark Unrein and Cristian Sarmento sidelined with injuries suffered in last week’s 45-14 victory over Division II Fort Lewis, Doughty probably will have to make a lot of plays Saturday. Also out is Bears star running back Andre Wilson, who has an ankle injury.
Joseph Sanchez can be reached at 303-820-5458 or jsanchez@denverpost.com.
