FILE: Sean Dawkins, wide receiver for Cal, heads for the end zone and a scores during their game against San Jose State at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, Calif.
KEN LEVINE/ALLSPORT.
Sean Dawkins, a former Cal wide receiver who would go on to play nine years in the NFL and make the Golden Bears’ Hall of Fame, has died, an official at UC Berkeley confirmed. He was 52.
Dawkins was a big-play receiver — as 6-foot-4 athletes usually are — for three seasons at Cal, and helped fuel the Golden Bears to two bowl appearances (Copper and Citrus, respectively) in 1990 and 1991. His talent reached its peak for the program in 1992 when he led the NCAA in receiving touchdowns at 14, a Cal record that continues to stand to this day. He also finished with 1,070 yards on just 65 receptions.
At the end of his collegiate career, he finished with 2,124 yards and 31 touchdowns, the latter of which remains a career record for the program.
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His breakout year got the attention of NFL scouts. The Indianapolis Colts selected him in the first round of the 1993 NFL Draft with the 16th overall pick. While he was certainly happy he got picked, Broncos quarterback John Elway was reportedly upset that Denver did not nab him five picks earlier.
“I feel good that a quarterback of that status would want me there,” Dawkins said, according to the Oakland Tribune. “That’s a great honor.”
Dawkins spent five seasons with the Colts racking up 251 receptions, 3,511 yards and 12 touchdowns. He’d spend the next four years in the league going from the Saints for one season, to the Seahawks for two and spent his final full season with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He signed with the Vikings before the 2002 season, but was cut from the team that September.
Colts owner Jim Irsay, who was Indianapolis’ general manager when the team drafted Dawkins in 1993, shared his condolences on social media.
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