Hiley Mazda Key Athlete of the Week: Athens football’s Spencer Dowland

ATHENS, Ala. (WHNT) — Athens senior offensive lineman Spencer Dowland isn’t one to brag on himself but his family, teammates and coaches will happily do it for him.

“He started half the year as a freshman the last half of the season. He was actually 14 years old when he got his first start, so he’s been playing for a long time and just been a solid guy,” Athens head coach Cody Gross said. “He shows up to work every day, never says a word it’s almost like you wouldn’t know he was there and he doesn’t draw a lot of attention to himself but he actually just comes to work every single day.”

Dowland’s received high praise from his head coach, he’s committed to play football at Auburn and now he has some hardware from News 19 as the Hiley Mazda Key Athlete of the Week.

Dowland says consistency, hard work, discipline and motivation are some of the key factors that have gotten him to where he is today.

Again, he’s not one to talk about himself and his achievements; those that know him well say he’s incredibly humble and Dowland says that’s because it hasn’t fully hit him that he’s going to play SEC ball.

“You still need to work every day and if you get complacent and you start to slip just don’t get caught up with the fact that that’s where you’re going but that’s where you’re working to be,” Dowland said.

“It’s a workman-like attitude he comes in and he has a lot of humility,” Gross said. “He loves his team, he loves his school and just loves playing football. I think he’ll continue to enjoy it at the next level but he’s not worried about any of that; you would never know by the way that he acts that he’s had all these offers and is committed to Auburn.”

So what about Auburn made Dowland choose to join the Tigers’ program?

“Really the people, the program and the place really made a difference to me just being down there,” Dowland said. “I feel like I can really relate to them and that’s a place where I feel like I’m going to be developed the best even if I don’t play either way I’m going to be developed into a great person just being down there.”

We are always looking for standout student-athletes in the Tennessee Valley to feature! If you have a high-school-aged athlete that you would like to nominate for Hiley Mazda Key Athlete of the Week, you can email olivia.whitmire@whnt.com, alexa.harley@whnt.com or sports@whnt.com.

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