Dawson Aime sure knows how to make a first impression.
After playing freshman football in 9th grade and JV in 10th, Aime earned a starting outside linebacker job for the Lawrence High School football team last year and proceeded to lead the defense with 99 tackles.
It went above and beyond the high hopes the staff already had for the junior.
“We saw he could be a good linebacker,” Cardinals coach Nate Jones said. “Leading the team in tackles, that was a pleasant surprise. I didn’t think he would have that type of impact. I knew he’d get out there and make plays but I didn’t think he’d lead the team in tackles. He was just a pleasure to coach, he’s never a headache.”
Try telling that to ball carriers, who found Aime to be quite the headache when trying to gain yardage. He had four games with double-figure tackles, including 12 against both Hightstown and Robbinsville.
Much like his coach, Aime “actually did surprise myself. I didn’t think I would end up getting that many tackles but I was happy I was able to help the team.”
He will be moving to inside (Mike) linebacker in the Cardinals 4-3 scheme this year despite a less-than-linebacker size of 5-foot-10, 185 pounds.
“Linebackers are pretty big guys,” he said. “I know I’m not that big of a guy, so I made sure I worked on my speed, so I was able to get to places faster and make a lot of plays. I still have a lot of power behind me.”
He made sure to increase that power with a massive off-season lifting program. Aime substantially increased his marks in each category and now bench presses 250 pounds, power cleans 245 and squat lifts 571.
“He’s a nice physical presence out there, he wants to hit people,” Jones said. “That makes him easy to coach. He’s an excellent kid. In the classroom he’s got great grades, he comes from a really nice family. I coached some of his older sisters and his younger brother. He’s just a great kid.”
The “great grades” part came via a hard lesson.
Aime began playing travel football in fifth grade for the Lawrence Lightning (now the Junior Cardinals), but was held out in sixth grade.
“My grades started to slip so my parents kind of took me out of it,” he said. “It was good that they did that, because now I’m working way harder, and I’ve learned you really need school to get into a higher level of football.”
He returned to the Lightning in 7th grade and moved over to Robbinsville in 8th to play in a higher weight class.
Upon arriving at LHS, Aime had to wait his turn with talented linebackers such as Dan Toatley and Eddie Williams ahead of him. Toatley holds the school record for tackles in a season and career.
“I learned a lot from them,” Aime said. “If I could touch the varsity field my sophomore year I would have taken it. But I was happy I was able to learn more that year. Dan is a big powerful guy, I respect him a lot. I watched what he did. We liked to make friendly bets to get me better. He has a couple records at the school that I’m chasing, so we make friendly bets if I can break them.”
Jones felt having such talent ahead of him was a blessing for Aime.
“He was ready to go from the get-go last year,” the coach said. “He’s been playing linebacker for a few years at freshman and JV. Varsity is obviously different but the he was in the (practice) drills with me and the other guys, playing with guys like Toatley and Eddie Williams. They really helped him to see how to be a linebacker.
“It wasn’t like he was hitting the ground without having been mentored by some pretty good football players. That made my job easier because those guys are preaching in the locker room and in school how to do things. When he gets out on the field it’s just easier.”
Jones added that Aime is one of those players who basically just needs a few repetitions. He may not get an assignment correct on the first few attempts, but after some reps he nails it.
This year, he will have Cory Frost as a returning starter at one outside spot, while the other OLB was still up for grabs heading into training camp.
On pass plays, Aime was mostly sent into coverage last year but did manage four sacks on the rare times he blitzed. He also had two interceptions, but there could have been more.
“We always tease him about his hands because he was just a second or two away from having three or four more interceptions,” Jones said. “He batted down some passes, dropped some passes.”
It’s something Aime put time in to correct.
“I’ve been working on my hands,” he said. “If I had caught all my interceptions I would have tied the school season record. I was like ‘Dang, I gotta work on that.’”
Lawrence plans on unleashing Aime a little more on blitzes this year, as his speed will make things difficult for both running backs and quarterbacks.
“Obviously guys are getting bigger and bigger out there so we’d like to see him get a little larger,” Jones said. “But his speed is amazing. He has a great first step and can get to the ball quickly. If he sees the play developing he’s gonna get there and fill that hole quick. We’re gonna mix it up with him this year. Sometimes we’ll send him, sometimes we’ll drop him back.”
Aime is looking to play college football and Jones noted he has already been contacted by Division II and Division III colleges. With his excellent grades and talent, the coach feels he has what it takes to play at the next level, which is something Aime has long thought about.
“I always found football interesting even before I played,” he said. “I liked watching the NFL. They inspired me to play. So, you might as well try. It doesn’t hurt to try.”
It’s even better to succeed, which Aime certainly wasted little time in doing.
Lawrence High School football player Dawson Aime prepares for a home scrimmage against Lincoln Aug. 20, 2018. (Staff photo by Samantha Sciarrotta.),
