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The high school sports programs of Colorado County have created some outstanding players throughout their history who have gone on to do impressive things beyond their days at the school. While many have gone to play college ball, an elite few have risen the ranks and taken their place amongst fellow professional athletes at the top of their craft. One of those professionals from the county is someone who had always been used to the spirit of competitiveness and hard work it takes to reach that level ever since they first started their sports journey. Rice Consolidated High School alum Kevin Dogins let his work do the speaking throughout his athletic career that culminated into a multi-year career in the NFL as one of the few players from the area to reach that peak.
Like many players who reach the pros, Dogins story in sports started early in his life as his family signed him up for youth football as young as around eight or nine years old. Even from an elementary school age, Dogins had a knack for the competitiveness that surrounded sports and quickly adopted the ‘will to win’ mentality that he carried throughout his career. His sense of competition likely was heightened by the friendly, sibling rivalry with his older brother, Johnell Dogins, that brothers often share in a family unit.
“We always competed,” Dogins said of he and his older brother’s relationship, “Everything we did competed. Whether it was shooting marbles or a basketball, everything we did was competitive.”
Johnell set somewhat of a standard for his younger brother to reach and helped him develop a strong desire through their own competitions. While Kevin was still playing through junior high and summer league teams, his older brother was reaching All-District teams and excelling as a multisport athlete for Rice Consolidated High School. By the time Kevin first arrived for his first day of high school, his older brother had already made a noticeable impact on each team he played for.
As a freshman, Kevin did not have the opportunity to share the field or the court with his brother who was coming into a senior year with great expectations for himself. However, Dogins got a chance to see firsthand the effect that a great athlete can have on a team and a program. He got to experience the daily lifestyle and preparation of a person that was vital for his team’s success. Not one to lose or be left behind, Dogins tried to keep up with his own preparation and strengthening while playing for the freshmen teams. The competition followed the Dogins brothers from the field to the homestead as they pushed each other to be better versions of themselves. By the time Johnell graduated in 1988, Kevin was well on his way to following the same track his older brother took.
Ironically, the track was just one of the many sports competition fields Dogins would step on throughout the rest of his years as a Raider. If there was any combination of running, jumping or throwing in the sport, one could almost expect to find Dogins name on the roster.
Regardless of what sport it was, Dogins could not be satisfied unless he was actively helping the team’s chances of winning. The same competitive mindset he developed as a child led him to many accolades throughout high school including many All-District selections, an All-American selection and he was even named Mr. Basketball for his performance in what he considered to be his favorite sport at the time.
While he may have enjoyed hoops the best while in high school, the realization soon set in that there was great potential for his success on the football field. That belief was validated after universities started their scouting and recruiting process to try to lure Dogins to their programs. Even with all the attention from large schools and programs with deep history in the sport, no school had a better argument for themselves than Texas A&M Kingsville. In fact, the school had already succeeded in recruiting Dogins by going through the same process with Johnell during his later seasons. Johnell becoming a four-year player for the Javelinas was a crucial piece to the puzzle as Kevin ultimately made the decision to follow in his brother’s footsteps once again.
However, Dogins quickly made it clear that he brought value as an individual and yet again made a name for himself even amongst higher tier competition. Coming in as a linebacker, the combination of his height along with his strength and muscle mass made him one of the larger linebackers in DII. Maybe it was his already strong frame that led that year’s offensive line coach and future NFL coach, Juan Castillo, to convince Dogins to make his mark in the trenches. Dogins agreed and allowed Castillo to turn him into a day-one starter at the center position his freshman year. Castillo was a crucial part of not only Dogins development, but the entire, elite offensive line that the Javelinas had built up.
“So [Castillo] came to me during workouts one day and he said, ‘You know what? You’d be a great NFL center,’” Dogins said of the current Washington Commanders Tight End coach, “I said, ‘Wow, really?’ and then bulked up from 230 to 270 in the offseason.”
Dogins was a winner, and during his time in Kingsville, the Javelinas won a lot. Over his four years, the team went 39-13 with four-straight conference championships, they reached the Division II playoffs every season and they nearly reached the peak in 1994, finishing as the national runners up to the University of Alabama after losing a close game in the Championship. The program’s success mirrored Dogins’ personal success during that period. He made the All-Conference First Team and the All-Region team three times each, played in the 1995 DII All-Star game, and won the award for best lineman in his conference the same year the team made it to the championship. He had made so much of a mark during his time that in 2008, the Javelinas inducted him into their football hall fame, and on Feb. 17 this year, the Javelinas immortalized the entire 1994 team for having one of their best seasons in history.
With the school having so much success, it was only natural that the next level of the sport would begin to take notice. What started with NFL scouts coming to watch a single, high-profile lineman ended up being a showcase of the immense talent the line as a whole obtained. With the heightened visibility afforded to them by their teammate, the linemen effectively showed off their skills and piqued the interest of NFL teams. With all of Castillo’s accolades during his long and successful coaching career, maybe none speak more to his impact than four of his linemen moving on to have professional playing careers. Dogins made his mark as one of the four, and also made history as one of the few players from Eagle Lake to make it all the way to the NFL.
Dogins NFL journey did not have a simple beginning however. As an undrafted free-agent, Dogins had his pick of whatever teams had an interest in him. The amount he could potentially earn played a large part in Dogins’ decision-making process as well. Eventually, he and the Dallas Cowboys came to an agreement to sign him to the practice squad prior to the season. While the Cowboys were in the midst of making decisions with the roster including the offensive line, another NFL team proved to be opportunistic. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed Dogins off of the waiver wire and signed him to their own practice squad. Not long after training camps and preseason games, they made things official with Dogins, signing him to the active roster and playing as his home for the majority of his playing career. The signing reunited him with a former teammate and Castillo-built prodigy, Jorge Diaz. Playing as lineman depth for many years in Tampa, he finally got his first opportunities to start in 1998, and even more in 1999 after Diaz succumbed to injury.
In 2001, Dogins took his talents to Chicago and played as a starter for half of the season. A few years later, he reunited with yet another Castillo product from Kingsville, Jermaine Mayberry, in Philadelphia. However, just like with Diaz, Mayberry was in the midst of unfortunate injury issues that opened up an opportunity for Dogins. Philly marked Dogins final stop in the NFL before returning to Tampa for several years as a real estate agent in the same city that gave him his first real chance as a professional.
Now, Dogins is back in Texas near Houston as he continues to raise his children and care for his family much closer to his original roots in Eagle Lake. While Dogins may downplay the historical significance of what he has done in his playing career, he hopes that his story can be an inspiration for those coming from small towns, specifically his hometown where his dreams first took root.
“It doesn’t matter where you come from,” Dogins said of current athletes making the move to collegiate ball, “With a lot of hard work, determination, you can make it anywhere… They’ll find you if you ball out.”
The Rice Raider turned TAMU Kingsville Javelina turned NFL lineman has proven one of the prime examples of that ideal with his career.
