12/30/02

Pearson focused on success

	Dakarai Pearson

Dakarai Pearson's teammates will tell you Dakarai's attire won't land him a photo shoot in GQ, he doesn't have a career as a stand-up comedian and won't make millions off his rather pedestrian nickname -- Doc -- on a team with a P-Nut, P-Geezy, Kool Aid, Huff Daddy, Smithers and Nasty Nate.

And his mom will tell you that, despite his love for music, he can't dance.

However, there is one trait family and teammates say the laid-back Pearson possesses that can be the difference between success and failure on the gridiron.

What exactly is Pearson's mysterious secret weapon?

"He's got this thing with his eyes," said one of his teammates who requested anonymity. "He never looks directly at you. He's always looking side-to-side and over your shoulder."

Another anonymous teammate agreed, calling his eyeball antics "weird."

"You never know if he's listening to you because he's looking everywhere but at you."

While Pearson's vision off the field may be out of the ordinary, his vision on the field can be described as extraordinary. That vision helped Pearson become one of the state's top prep option quarterbacks. On the collegiate level, the junior safety from Dayton, Texas, has evolved into one of the top defensive backs in the Big 12 Conference mainly because of his exceptional field vision.

"I've always done that with my eyes," said Pearson, his eyes dancing past the reporter interviewing him for this story. "I want to be aware of my perimeter and know what's going on around me at all times. People may think I'm ignoring them but that's not true. I'm just taking a peek to see what's around me. On the field it's a good thing and God blessed me with an ability that I have found a great use for."

Junior S Dakarai Pearson is one interception shy of tying the UT single-season record of seven.

His efforts are a large reason for the success of the UT secondary in 2002. A starter in all 12 games, Pearson has helped the Texas defense lead the Big 12 in passing yards allowed per game (162.8 - No. 10 NCAA) and rank third in the conference and 10th in the country in pass efficiency defense (98.3 rtg). UT also ranks second in the league and in a sixth-place tie nationally with 21 interceptions - six of which are courtesy of Pearson.

Pearson needs just one interception to tie the UT single-season record shared by several Longhorns, including junior teammate Nathan Vasher who had seven picks in 2002.

"Dakarai is like a Mississippi river boat gambler on the field in that he's willing to take smart chances," said UT defensive coordinator Carl Reese. "You need to take chances in the type of defense we are trying to execute and Dakarai has done a fantastic job."

The path to success wasn't always clear for Pearson, however.

Athletic success began in the genes for Pearson. His grandfather was an accomplished professional baseball player during the depression; his father played baseball at Texas Tech and his brother was a two-sport star at Dayton High School in football and baseball and was eventually drafted by the Cincinnati Reds. Baseball was the sport of choice for Dakarai until a shoulder injury in junior high led to his discovery of football.

As a high school quarterback he operated the option with such precision that he was named to USA Today's All-USA honorable mention squad. He even earned scholarship offers from several top-25 programs to play behind center.

Following a storied high school career for Class 4A Dayton High, Pearson burst onto the collegiate scene, earning Sporting News second-team freshman All-America honors in 2000. He started 10 games in his first season at Texas and helped lead a Longhorns defense that led the nation in pass efficiency defense.

But that very success that earned him national acclaim and seemed to have him penciled in as a starter in the Longhorns secondary began to work against him. While the Texas defense continued to make headlines in 2001, allowing just six passing touchdowns all season, Pearson's playing time diminished.

"Last year was a complete mental letdown and it affected my playing time," said Pearson, who lost his starting job to former Longhorn Ahmad Brooks and found himself fighting for time in UT's nickel package. "As a freshman the game slowed down and it felt like I was playing in high school. Everything was in slow motion and my playmaking and decisions came very natural. I started to think I was a good player and that I didn't have to work very hard since I was having success. But once I stopped doing the things that made me successful it caught up to me."

It was around the time of the Texas-Oklahoma game in 2001 that Pearson realized he needed to change or his days as a regular in the Longhorns defense were over. His biggest adjustment came in the film room where he replaced his sporadic 30-minute sessions with daily sessions lasting more than two hours.

"I really started to discipline myself at watching film," noted Pearson. "As a football player you can never watch too much film. Coach Akina always tells us that if you put two great football players up against one another the player with better technique and smarts will win out. I'm trying to get to that level so I have the edge on my opponent."

Pearson also turned his work ethic up a notch last spring to set up his battle for the vacant free safety spot with redshirt freshman Kendal Briles this preseason.

"Dakarai worked extremely hard and prepared well for this season," said Reese. "Coming out of spring training he said he wanted to be the man and he has worked very hard to get the job done."

Pearson eventually won the starting role in the preseason and has drawn rave reviews, but he has vowed not to let success spoil him twice.

"It was humbling to not be a full-time starter last year," he said. "But it turned out to be a blessing. I wasn't doing as much to contribute last year and it forced me to figure out what I had to do to help this team. I learned that you have to stay on top of the game at all times. Whatever the coaches tell me to do I do it and then some. I want to play and I want to win."

When his playing career is complete, Pearson, who describes himself as "a chill, laid-back guy who lays low to see what's going on," hopes to enter the coaching ranks.

"I would love to play in the NFL and then come back to the high school or college level and give coaching a try," said Pearson. "Guys like Joe Walker and Greg Brown showed me the ropes when I was young and I'd like do the same thing on a bigger scale."

"I could see Dakarai being a coach," said Reese. "He's a very knowledgeable player who understands the game plan and helps get the other players lined up. He's like having a coach on the field."

While Pearson says that it's not easy to learn how to see the field, claiming that his vision is a "God-given gift", he insists that at Texas he has learned, among other things, how to dance.

"I've grown up a lot at Texas, and my dancing has come a long way," he said. "I think my mom is thinking of my high school dancing performance. I have some new techniques and I'm a little better. Nowadays she'd be surprised. I'll have to show her some time.